A chasing after the wind

GENTLE BREEZE By NELLY FAVIS VILLAFUERTE Nelly Favis Villafuerte Ecclesiastes is one book in the Old Testament that has a very powerful message; namely that life is meaningless apart from God.  As the concluding verse in the Book of Ecclesiastes says: “Fear God and obey His commandments for this is the entire duty of man!  For God will judge us for everything we do, including every hidden thing, good or bad.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

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Our hearts are heavy with grief whenever somebody we know dies.  We should, however, be resigned to the reality of aging and dying.  The time our death comes is a matter that is beyond human wisdom.  As the Holy Bible says, “No man has power over the wind to contain it; no one has power over the day of his death.”(Ecclesiastes 8:8)  But while this may be so, what we do here before that “unexpected” time has a great impact on or life hereafter.  Pursuing power, possessions, and pleasures do as not necessarily lead to great happiness and fulfillment.  All these can be snatched away anytime.

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To many of us, finding life’s meaning is as elusive as “chasing the wind.”  As was articulated by a Bible-believing Christian: “We feel the wind as it passes, but we cannot get hold of the wind or keep it.”  In all our accomplishments, even the big ones, our good feelings are only temporary.  Security and self-worth are not found in these accomplishments, but far beyond them in the love of God.  Think about what you consider worthwhile in your life – where you place your time, energy, and money.  Will you one day look back and decide that these, too, were a “chasing of the wind?”

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The futility of life if God is not in our lives is very well described in the following verses: “So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me.  All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.  I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.  And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool?  Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun.  This, too, is meaningless.  So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun.  For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it.  This, too, is meaningless and a great misfortune.  What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun?  All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest.  This, too, is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 2:17-23)

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May this article encourage us to read the Book of Ecclesiastes and realize that the thousand vanities of this world are just temporary.  In the end, what matters is our closeness with our Almighty and Sovereign God.

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This column continues to give out copies of the Holy Bible for free to those who cannot afford to buy their own copies. If interested, please send your letter-request to Ms. Nelly Favis Villafuerte, 5233 Fahrenheit St., Palanan, Makati City. Kindly mention if it is the Tagalog, English, Cebuano, or Ilocano Bible that is preferred.   Be joyful and forgiving! (Comments may be sent to Ms. Villafuerte’s email: villafuerte_nelly@yahoo.com.)