Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long ago approved what you do. Let your garments always be white; do not let oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that are given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, August 11, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
This idea is at the heart of Ecclesiastes. For all that the Teacher bemoans the vanity of our fleeting existence, the takeaway is that because our life is finite, we ought to enjoy to the fullest all the gifts that God gives us in the here an now. The fact of our fleeting existence in itself becomes gift, because it frees us from our insatiable desire to pursue immortality on our own terms. This is why, despite the fact that some people see this particular book as a downer, Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books in all of scripture. It is not, in fact, depressing at all, but liberating. Because we are limited in our nature, because the world is so seemingly random, and yet because God is ultimately in charge of all that is, was, and is to come, we are absolutely liberated to be what we are—beautiful creations in God’s image—and live our days in a state of intense gratitude for all we have in the here and now. How amazing is that?
How do I live into this idea of enjoying life in the midst of the knowledge of its limitations?
