In the name of Christ Jesus, dear Christian friends,

Why am I here? What am I doing with my life? Why do I keep working so hard? Have you ever wondered such questions? People have been asking these questions for centuries. Early in life, children begin to ask the question, "Why?" But the answers are not always easy. In the teen years, we ask "why" and think we know the answers. Some things we took for granted begin to seem meaningless. As we grow older, life seems like an endless cycle. You get up, you go to work, you go home, you sleep. Why? Why am I doing this? What's the point? Who appreciates it? Who understands? Who really cares? As we age, we think about the meaning of life even more. Is this all there is?! Is it really true that life's just a real pain, and then you die?

The book of Ecclesiastes considers that question again and again, but the answers are not what you might expect from the Bible. Solomon wrote this book after experiencing the best that life had to offer. He had wealth. He had fame. He had power. He had accomplished many great building projects. He had attained to much knowledge. He had a harem of beautiful women. He denied himself nothing his heart desired. But, this is what he learned: (1:2) "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."

If Ecclesiastes was the only Bible book you had, it would not be enough. Other books could probably stand alone, but not Ecclesiastes. Yet, it has a place in the Scriptures. It is a rather limited place. Ecclesiastes shows what man can know by looking at nature and life and using human reason. It has a pretty powerful recipe. Take the wisest man on earth. Make him the wealthiest man too. Throw in royal power and success, and stir it all up. Now what do you have left? When you look at life from his human perspective, without God and without the other Bible books, what does look like? (1:2) "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." Life without God is meaningless, even if you have all the money, power and fun that Solomon had. It doesn't matter! Solomon really tried to squeeze out every bit of fun that this life has to offer. And in the end, he said, everything is "meaningless," a "chasing after the wind."

That's the lesson. That's the theme of our Old Testament lesson. Let's take a closer look. Solomon writes: (2:18-19) "I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. {19} 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." As it turned out, Solomon's son was a fool. Rehoboam ruined his father's kingdom, only a few days after Solomon died. His foolish answer led ten of the twelve tribes to reject him as king. Maybe Solomon could sense that coming. All that he worked for, all that he ruled, crumbled only days after his body was cold in death.

{20-23} "So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. {21} 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. {22} What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? {23} All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless." Solomon endured "toilsome labor" and stress in ruling his kingdom. Sure, it looked like fun and games, but it was no picnic ruling all those people. Whenever you deal with people, you have stress. President Lincoln said, "You can't please everybody." Lincoln is regarded as one of our greatest Presidents, but he was often under intense pressure. Solomon thinks about "all the toil and anxious striving" and says that it's all meaningless. A man works hard to build a business only to see his children destroy it. We see this too.

From the human perspective, this is what looks best: {24-26} "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, {25} for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? {26} To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." There now, do you feel uplifted? The best you can hope for is to find some enjoyment and satisfaction in your work. But, good luck with that!

When the farmer plants his crops and they are destroyed, how enjoyable is that? When the investor loses everything in a stock market crash, how satisfying is that? When the owner watches his company crumble into bankruptcy, after a lifetime of stress, how fun is that? When a pastor or teacher sees members wander away from the faith, how great is that? No thanks! This is still not the real answer. Even when it says that the unrepentant sinner has to hand over everything to the man who pleases God, we must realize that this is only a general perspective. Later in this book, it says that sometimes we see the opposite happen too. Psalm 73 says that the wicked seem to thrive! They seem healthy and strong. They seem to succeed! Too often, the guy getting rich is the crook, the cheat, the selfish, greedy miser! Psalm 73 says, {12} "This is what the wicked are like - always carefree, they increase in wealth." That's how it seems, and that's troublesome, so he writes: "{16} When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me {17} till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny." Finally, there's the answer! This life just doesn't seem right sometimes. But when we understand their final destiny, that changes everything! Wicked unbelievers are going to perish. They may have fun in this life, but they won't have any fun in hell. There, they will spend all eternity, suffering tortures that are so bad, I cannot describe them.

Psalm 73 continues: {18} Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. {19} How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! The wicked will not succeed, in the end. All at once, they will perish, and leave everything behind. Think now of that Rich Fool from our Gospel reading. God said, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" Those who live without Christ, living only for this life, are going to be in for a big surprise in the end. There is good reason to be a believer. The Psalmist writes: "Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. {24} You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. {25} Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. {26} My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Don't you just love that part? God holds us by the hand and guides us with his counsel. And after all of this life, he will take us into glory. He will take his believers to heaven. So don't dwell on the problems of this life! Look up! And look ahead! Heaven is waiting for you.

We see this lesson in our epistle for today. (Col. 3:1-4) "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. {2} Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." That's the point! "Set your hearts and minds on things above!" If you are only looking at this life, your sights are set too low. Look up and look ahead! Heaven is waiting for you! Christ is in control, ruling the whole universe. Don't forget that! He'll bring you safely to heaven.

It says, {3} "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." Those words seem strange. When did I die? When did you die? Well, when Jesus died on the cross, it was just as if we had died there. He was our Substitute. He had lived a perfect life. And then, at the cross, we see God's Great Exchange. All of our sins went to him, and he died on the cross as the full payment for our sins. The price he paid was our price. The sins he died for were our sins. So, it was as though we had died. But that's not all. In verse one it says, "you have been raised with Christ." When Jesus rose from death, we rose. He won the victory for us and applied it to us in Holy Baptism. Our sins went to Jesus, and his holiness comes to us. Because Jesus died and rose from death, you are forgiven of all of your sins. Believe in him and you will go to heaven. Believe in him, and you will have eternal life.

In fact, "your life," your real life, is hidden. You can't see it. It's invisible. But it's real. It's the life we believers have with God. By faith in Jesus Christ, we have life with God. Verse 4 says, "When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." Christ is your life. When he appears on Judgment Day, we and all believers will appear with him in glory. We will go to heaven. That makes life worth living, knowing that, in the end, we will arrive safely in heaven. In the end, God will make everything right. Our lives really do have meaning. They have meaning in and because of Christ. By faith in Jesus, our Savior, we will live happily ever after. We will live forever in the perfect world of heaven! So, don't give up! "What is the meaning of life?" It is to learn of Jesus, to believe in Jesus, and to serve Jesus, until he brings us safely to heaven. Amen.