Excerpt: "Remembering Meaning"

 The following is an excerpt from a piece I was recently working on. For one reason or another, I probably will never publish the full thing.

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Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 1:2 (KJV) 

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    Ecclesiastes is a fascinating book. It is full of challenges, encouragements, and blunt declarations on the nature of life.

    I reread it recently after listening to my uncle fanboy over it for about the fifth time, citing it as a "cure for mid-life crisis". That's high praise, though I suppose a book that's divinely inspired should live up to just about any exaltation.

    While I'm a few decades away from any such existential renovation, I still found it thought-provoking and full of principles that easily apply to my life as a single man dude in his early twenties. Ultimately, Ecclesiastes helps one prioritize all aspects of their life so as to aspire ever higher toward God.

    That being said, I found myself feeling troubled after reading the verse quoted above (I know, I know; two verses into the book and I'm already confused. That doesn't bode well). "All is vanity? What does all mean?" I asked myself. At which point does the statement slip from the literal to the hyperbolic? Surely, our relationships and efforts to better this life aren't meaningless. Such things are the result of man fulfilling the Creation Mandate. Reproducing, mastering resources, actively improving our circumstances -- is that not subduing the Earth, and thus meaningful?

    Suffice to say I thought that Solomon's proclamation "all is vanity" was at odds with the rest of the Bible. And as it turns out, I was correct. But we'll get to that later.

    As I considered Ecclesiastes 1:2, my inner dialogue spurred the remembrance of some things I've heard fellow believers say:

    "Man, don't I wish God would just rapture us outta here like he did Enoch. No worries, no struggles, no temptations...imagine that!"

    "Ugh. Things just get worse every year. I’m terrified of raising kids in this world."

     We’ve all heard the first example before. The second is also common within the Christian sphere. For the most part, both statements are benign. No sadness at the drop of a hat? Sounds great. Are things getting worse? Well, that depends on the metric, but I suppose so. It’s inarguable that more avenues of immorality are not only tolerated, but celebrated, here in America than ever before.

    Nonetheless, statements like those above just never sat quite right with me. It wasn't until recently, however, that I was able to articulate why. After a bit of thought, I realized:

    Each statement has an undercurrent of nihilism. They devalue the human experience, casting it from its position of utmost necessity within God’s plan to a mere inconvenience to be tolerated as we float along towards eternity. 

    More precisely, the mindset behind such declarations fails to acknowledge that suffering is a prerequisite to knowing God in His Fullness.

    Walk into any Sunday school in the country and ask a student who God is. I guarantee you’ll hear the following answers (and more):

    “He’s a healer.”

    “He’s a savior.”

    “He’s a redeemer.”

    “He’s a comforter.”

    “He’s a guide.”

    If Adam and Eve had never partaken of the fruit and we never needed healing, saving, redeeming, comforting, or guidance, how would we know those facets of God’s Being?

    We wouldn’t.

    Of course, you could argue that God, being all-powerful, could Vulcan mind-meld those concepts into our brains without putting us through any of the correlating experiences. But would that be truly equivalent? I don’t believe so. It’d be information without context, facts without resonance. It wouldn’t change us.

    It wouldn’t be a revelation.

    But by being thrust into a fallen realm, we are channeled into events that push us toward God as He    manifests His attributes. And as we see how our lives are affected, the more we understand how God views us and how we ought to view Him.

    It is every Christian’s desire to deepen his understanding of God. But in order to appreciate the full spectrum of God’s Being, we must experience the full spectrum of life.

    Consider this passage from the tenth chapter of Revelation:

    8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

    9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

    10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

    When John accepted the message that the angel offered and consumed it, he endured both pleasure and pain. The experiences were inseparable from the message. I believe these verses perfectly parallel the Christian’s life. If we want to achieve the fullest comprehension of who we serve, we must surrender ourselves to existence and remember the meaning behind it all.

    And we should never forget to enjoy the ride.