Together On Mission
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, “Knowing who we are will shape how we live. Conversely, not knowing who we are as Christians will leave us muddled and confused in our lifestyle.” In this series we want to explore what the Scriptures teach about who we are and why we exist. Our prayer is that we will embrace our identity as Christ’s people made by mercy for God’s mission.
Ecclesiastes: Search for Meaning Under the Sun
In Romans 8, Paul declares that all of creation was subjected to futility, that is, to emptiness and vanity. In one phrase Paul summarized the conclusion of the Preacher, the author of Ecclesiastes, who spent his life searching for meaning in every avenue under the sun. The Preacher explores every possible aspect of life to find some sort of meaning and lasting significance. He experiments with virtuous wisdom, unbridled pleasure, meaningful work, limitless possessions, and more. His conclusion is that all of this is vanity-futile because it is fleeting and excruciatingly temporary. His message is clear: We who were created with a capacity for the eternal must stop pretending that what is temporal can satisfy us. Ecclesiastes intends to demonstrate the hopelessness of life under the sun and drives us to look to God as Creator, trust him as Sovereign, and humble ourselves before him as Unsearchable Wisdom.