Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“For who knows what is good for mortals while they live the few days of their vain life, which they pass like a shadow? For who can tell them what will be after them under the sun?”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, August 10, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Much of Ecclesiastes is concerned about time. Here, again, the Teacher reflects on the fleeting amount of time humans have on this earth, and on our total lack of control of what happens in the future, especially after we die.
“Who knows what is good for mortals while they live the few days of their vain life”? God knows. Once again we are called to surrender all the things we can’t control to God, and live in the moment, enjoying to the fullest the time we do have.
So many of us have plans and designs—things we want to accomplish, ways we want to leave a mark on the world, some means of ensuring a kind of immortality for ourselves. And this is vanity. The truth is that we are enough exactly as we are in this moment. Our immortality it to be found in God, not in our own efforts. We matter so much to God, are loved so much that we are free to remain present in the moment. What a blessing and a gift! If only we can accept it.
Do I feel the need to leave a legacy in this world? Why or why not?
