11 June 2010
Psalm 69; Eccles. 11:9-12:14; Gal. 5:25-6:10; Matt. 16:21-28

Sounds like a mid-life crisis to me. What do we do when we get to the point when we realize the futility and meaninglessness of the life under the sun? Solomon says to young men, enjoy it while you’re young because one day you will realize the pleasures are fleeting and then comes the reality of the end of it all. If we could learn to appreciate that which is truly and eternally valuable when we are young and to invest our lives in that we would know happiness and joy all the days of our lives. Solomon invested himself in everything under the sun and what we have in Ecclesiastes is regret over folly. A man known for his wisdom says, at the end of his life, I was foolish not wise. It is never too late to change or to learn. We can begin today investing in and delighting in that which is eternal and therefore more precious than anything under the sun.

Peter is rebuked because he is setting his mind on the things under the sun. Peter is thinking of earthly thrones and kingdoms and power and Jesus says that all these are passing away and that while this life is precious enough to God to take on flesh it is merely a breath in the eternal scheme of things. Jesus had two things in mind always, the glory of the Father and others and lived His life accordingly, never seeming to take a thought for His own pleasure and comfort. All that He did was with eternity in mind, pleasing the Father and gaining entry for us sinners. Jesus asks the question Solomon is asking, what does it matter if you gain the whole world, have everything you could covet, if, in the end, you don’t have eternal life? Are these things worth the effort to acquire, do we realize the cost?

Towards what end are we sowing? Are our efforts made towards reaping a harvest of righteousness and towards the next life? The thrust of all the Bible is plain, seek first the kingdom of God, be a fanatic about Him. The people we most admire in Christian history are those who have one single thought in mind, the glory of God. Are we passionately pursuing Him? Can we say as in Psalm 42, “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” What does your soul truly pant and thirst after? What is it that you use to satisfy your thirst? If it isn’t the living God, it is simply vanity.

I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the Lord more than an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs.
Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.