BY GREG CRUM
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
Have you ever felt like all your efforts amounted to nothing more than beating your head into a brick wall? That your words of wisdom were wasted? That the energy and effort you put into doing the things you do were without positive return? Have you ever wondered, “What’s the point?” Well, so did Solomon. He was a man of major accomplishments, tremendous wealth, vast wisdom. On top of that, he had some deep spiritual experiences in his life. Still, at the time he penned Ecclesiastes, he was a man who wondered, “What’s the point?”
Solomon openly wondered if there was a purpose in this life. It seems he spent considerable time in pursuit of a definitive answer.
What did he figure out? That, yes, there is a point, and it’s found in focusing on our original purpose and design.
Friends, this life can try to frustrate you. And if you focus on the “gnats” in life, you’ll forever be swatting them away in vain effort. We must focus on our original purpose and design if we are to find and maintain peace of heart and mind. With that said, what is our original purpose? What were we engineered for? Well, what did Solomon conclude? After 12 chapters of philosophical and spiritual dissertation he summed it up with this: To fear God and keep his commandments!
Brothers and sisters, we were born to fear God and keep His commandments. It’s in our original design. It should be the most natural thing for a born-again believer to do, but what does that entail exactly? What was Solomon getting at, especially with that part about fearing God? As you may have heard before, “fearing” God here isn’t a call to run from Him in terror. Rather it is an encouragement to reverence Him with our whole heart and soul. Here, and in many other places in the Scriptures, “fear” speaks of reverence. But here’s the thing: Without relationship real reverence isn’t possible.
Genesis chapters 1 through 3 relay to us purposes of our creation. We were explicitly given the commission to manage this Earth, but also there’s a lot of God and man communication going on in these chapters. What does that tell us? That we were also created to have a relationship with God, a genuine, growing, one-on-one relationship. What am I getting at? Most of the time, when we begin to feel like “What’s the point?” it is because we have lost focus on this purpose, our relationship with God, and we have begun to focus on other people or other things.
One of the most powerful truths we can embrace in life is this: The more we focus on building our relationship with God, the more our life finds a purpose. If that is so, how do we grow that relationship? Reading the Scriptures? Absolutely! Speaking with Him in prayer? You’ve got it! But also, as that last part of Ecclesiastes 12:13 reveals, there is a closeness with God that only comes when we choose to do His will, or in other words, choose to keep His commandments.
I challenge you to read I John 2:1-6, John 14:15, and John 15:9-11. The takeaway from those verses? If we really love God, we will do what He says.
Now, those last thoughts are controversial with the uber-grace crowd today, but think of it this way—the closer we are to someone, the more we love and appreciate them, the more we look for ways to please them. When you love the Lord, you happily look for ways to please Him, and you gladly do what He asks.
With all that said, when you’re feeling like “What’s the point?” in life, check yourself, see if you don’t need to get back to a focus on the actual point of this life—a relationship with God, and doing all you can to please Him!
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely.