There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after. Ecclesiastes 1:11
Eternal God,
As my daily Bible reading takes me to Ecclesiastes,
I am reminded of how easily we set our hopes
on finding meaning in the things of this world.
As we read, “Is there a thing of which it is said,
‘See, this is new’?
It has been already
in the ages before us” (Ecclesiastes 1:10),
we might be tempted to say,
“Well, yes, ChatGPT is new,
and nothing like it ever existed
in the ages before us,”
but that would be to discount the awe the world felt
when the telephone
or the telegraph
or the computer
was discovered.
Yes, even the latest, greatest technology
will one day be “old,”
and even ChatGPT
cannot make our lives meaningful.
You have created us to be meaning-making creatures,
and again and again,
the author of Ecclesiastes reminds us
that the only lasting meaning to be found
is in seeking to know and love you
and in seeking to know how much you love us.
You have endowed us with meaning,
making us your image-bearers,
and calling us to be ambassadors
of the good news of the gospel.
And while it is true that much about our stories
will not be remembered 25 years after
we’ve gone to be with you,
what will last eternally
is the way we’ve lived
your calling
to “be fruitful and multiply” the gospel.
Help us today to turn our minds
from the things that so occupy us,
“toil under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:3),
“great possessions of herds and flocks” (Ecclesiastes 2:7),
even the acquisition of “great wisdom” (Ecclesiastes 1:16),
that we might “hunger and thirst for righteousness,”
for in it, we shall be satisfied (Matt. 5:6).
In Jesus’ meaning-full name. Amen.
Read Ecclesiastes 1-2.
