1/30/12

The grey side of JOY


Dreamy; that is how I would describe this picture... an almost too wonderful picture.  I could almost picture myself on the lake; almost!  Then I was reminded of a conversation I had the other day with my oldest granddaughter.  I had been thinking of buying my first motorcycle and she quickly talked me out of it.  "You will use it a couple of times and then it will just sit there" quickly stopped that train of thought because I knew she was right!!!  So, after a few seconds of looking at the picture, I knew it was just a motorcycle in disguise.  Pipe-dreams all!!!  Please take a moment and read this chapter from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes...

World English Bible: Ecclesiastes Chapter 11

[1] Cast your bread on the waters;
for you shall find it after many days.


[2] Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight;
for you don’t know what evil will be on the earth.


[3] If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth;
and if a tree falls toward the south, or toward the north,
in the place where the tree falls, there shall it be.


[4] He who observes the wind won’t sow;
and he who regards the clouds won’t reap.


[5] As you don’t know what is the way of the wind,
nor how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child;
even so you don’t know the work of God who does all.


[6] In the morning sow your seed,
and in the evening don’t withhold your hand;
for you don’t know which will prosper, whether this or that,
or whether they both will be equally good.


[7] Truly the light is sweet,
and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to see the sun.


[8] Yes, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all;
but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many.
All that comes is vanity.


[9] Rejoice, young man, in your youth,
and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth,
and walk in the ways of your heart,
and in the sight of your eyes;
but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.


[10] Therefore remove sorrow from your heart,
and put away evil from your flesh;
for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

If I were to give this chapter a title it would be: The grey side of JOY!!!  Grey because in even handedly looking at the most pleasant of things (like light or youth or the gentle blowing of the wind) one must consider the less than wonderful consequences of it in order to appreciate it by means of contrast.  So, in a book of the Bible that presents wisdom from a human perspective, the ultimate conclusion is vanity.  While Solomon had great wisdom, yet somehow he lacked true humility and it is only those who can view life in true submission to God who will see things as they genuinely are.  As for me, I will keep looking at sailboats and motorcycles, but realize they are nothing as compared to the joy of having a home in heaven.  And, there is no "GREY" in heaven at all!!!!!!