That Ennobling Realization
Book Club | Eat, Drink & Be Merry: Chapter 3
Hello, and welcome to week 3 of our Book Club.
Life is short.
Life is Good.
But we only get one run at life in this world—one opportunity to live it with wisdom and happiness in God.
We, and our life here, have immense potential for Beauty and Goodness beyond our wildest dreams, with God.
But, “we can blow our chance” (p. 35).
Rather than moving through life with intention—expanding the Garden, enjoying gifts, multiplying Image bearers, joyfully enduring suffering—we can be moved through life in apathy.
Failure is a very real possibility. A terrifying possibility. A possibility that has haunted humanity forever. We have always been searching for the good life—a life well lived, a life full of meaning, a life where our purpose is known and fulfilled.
Turns out, this isn’t a very easy life to find. World religions, philosophy, science, you, and me have been developing theories for millennia. Some of the greeks came close, but you can only get so far through mere observation.
We need the answer revealed.
We need someone higher and outside of us—Someone who knows our purpose and how we can meaningfully fulfill it in the most soul-satisfying way. This is the longing of the human heart.
But without this Someone to reveal the Truth about ourselves and the good life, we may “come to our latter years burned-out and fed up.” (p. 39)
To prevent that terrifying tragedy, Someone has taken the initiative—opened our eyes and offered to us an answer, the answer. Because:
“We don’t intuitively track with him. We have to learn new ways of thinking. So God gave us Ecclesiastes to convince us that we really can walk each day in his ‘newness of life’ (Romans 6:4).” (p. 37)
The good life is possible, your destiny even if you are a Christian. But it isn’t something we have to wait for perfection to start living. We can begin now to embrace the good life God has revealed to us in His word.
Part of that good life, God says, is to “let your heart cheer you.”
Allow your inner self to believe the Word of God, to trust what He has said is true. When life manipulates you into apathy and cynicism, let your heart cheer you with the Truth that life is Good and worth enjoying even in suffering and want.
One of the ways you are to let your heart cheer you is in this:
“He has a purpose for you, a calling for you to fulfill. It means your foundational, God-created you—your personality, your body, your abilities, your individuality—the you God created is not a problem but a strategy.” (p. 43)
God created you and me with an intention in mind. He made us in His image and likeness. This means we are to reflect His character and nature, displaying His attributes in the world and bringing Him glory as His likeness is made manifest to all.
This is the broad, general purpose for Humanity. I could go on forever about it—if you’d like to, reach out and we can talk more about it.
But that’s not what Ray’s talking about here. He is talking about the narrow, specific purpose given to each human being—which is their unique manner of fulfilling the broader human purpose of imaging God.
How exciting to know that God created you, created me, with particular gifts to accomplish particular good works in His manifold, glory-emanating plan for the cosmos.
We have the privilege of embarking on the adventure of discovering that particular purpose, and joyfully embracing it in faith. But discover it, we must. The path isn’t always as visible as we’d like it to be, but it is straight and narrow and leads to life—and we have this unbelievably comforting promise from God in James: “if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting”
Believe that God created you with intention, and a purpose in mind.
Believe that to fulfill that purpose is to embrace the good life your heart longs for.
Believe that when you aren’t sure of what that particular purpose is, God is only waiting for you to ask Him to show you.
“Let your heart cheer you with that ennobling realization.” (p.44)
Lets hear from you!
Did Ray’s interpretation of this part of Ecclesiastes 11:9 align with what you thought it meant?
How might letting your heart cheer you change the way you’re living right now?
What is your relationship the possibility of coming to the end of your life “burned-out and fed up”? Do you feel confident in God to lead you in the path of joyful wisdom?
Share in the comments, and engage with the thoughts of others!
See you next Saturday (6/27) for Chapter Four!
We are struggling with the interpretation of Ecclesiastes 11:9 that Ray provides. We agree with the general premise that he provides - we are to enjoy God’s good gifts, because He is the source of all good things; He is good! YES! However, it seems that he is suggesting that the rejoicing that we can do is a limited-time offer, and that we must act fast and click on the particular link below to buy now before the offer goes away. At times, it doesn’t seem like the author is leading from a place of Gospel foundation to convey his points. The Gospel - Christ’s death and resurrection to life for the forgivness of sins to all those who would believe –causes our hearts to rejoice, now and always! As believers, He has forgiven us from our sins, a pure act of grace - and this creates a heart of humility, reverence, and fear! In this truth we rejoice, knowing He is indwelled inside of us, and we won’t come to the end of our years burned out and fed up, because HE is alive, who we are entrusting each day to.
We appreciate how it was said in a Desiring God article:
Ecclesiastes 11:9–11 teach us how to maintain God-conscious joy. We choose to rejoice in God and his gifts, we live wisely in the fear of God, we cast our burdens on God, knowing that he cares, and we remember our Creator. To rejoice is to find God-given and God-approved, heart-felt pleasure in God and his gifts amidst both prosperity and adversity as fuel for hope in brighter days and as a foretaste of eternal pleasures beyond judgment. Rejoice today, remembering what God has done in your past and resting confident that he will work all good for you in the future. Rejoice today, trusting that the Lord guides the desires of all who fear him. Rejoice today, knowing that God is able to meet you in your pain and that he will let light shine in your life again. Rejoice today, knowing that your Creator is also your Shepherd, and he is even now hastening the sun to the place where it will rise again.
For us, letting our hearts cheer us, means reflectng more often on the Gospel in our day-to-day and viewing things of this world as an opportunity to adore Him and glorify Him, until we can see Him face to face SOON!
The story Ray conveys on pp 49-51 helped me to begin to realize what letting my heart cheer me meant. It seems to mean that no matter the situation I am facing and the feelings I am having in the situation I can rely on the fact that "Christ is SUFFICENT, Christ is VICTORIOUS, Christ is SOVEREIGEN, Christ is CAPABLE, Christ is LOVING, AND I'm FORGIVEN, So PRESS ON! AND DON'T LOOK BACK!!" Ray then in the next story tells us that the way to do this is to do what Theodore Cuyler and Charles Spurgon did and thank God for the ways in the situation that he is: SUFFICENT, VICTORIOUS, SOVEREIGEN, CAPABLE, and LOVING, in the Mundane.