Jan 23 2015
The Source of Meaning
The wise Solomon considers a topic that has baffled many scholars
“Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” These are the words of King Solomon in his book called Ecclesiastes. Is he okay? Is he depressed? Does he need help? No, Solomon is fine; in fact he is brimming with confidence. Well he refers to himself in the book as ‘Israel’s Teacher’ so he must be! But why is he being so negative? It is because in Ecclesiastes Solomon teaches by provocation. He wants to provoke Israel to think. And he is asking them to think of the mother of all questions: What is the meaning of life? And does Solomon then follow up with an answer to the question? Oh no, he just leaves us all hanging. Thanks Solly! But of course that’s all part of his strategy, Ecclesiastes is designed to provoke. More
Mar 26 2015
Made to Glorify God
In 1715 Louis XIV of France died. He called himself ‘the Great.’ He was famous for saying ‘I am the state.’ He had the most magnificent courts in all Europe and his funeral was spectacular. His body was laid in a gold coffin, and by his orders the cathedral was dimly lit except for one bright candle placed over the coffin so everyone’s attention would be drawn to where he lay. As thousands of people waited in hushed silence, Bishop Massilon began to speak, and as he did so he slowly reached over to the candle snuffing it out, and said ‘Only God is great.’
God‘s glory is quite different from man’s. Man has to work hard for the little glory he can muster, but God’s glory is intrinsic, it’s who he is, he can’t help being glorious, and it has been this way for all eternity. More