MEANINGLESS (PART 6)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”

Ecclesiastes 3:18-21

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We carry ourselves around in life as if we hold dominion over the animal kingdom. It’s true, right?

Isn’t our general belief that humans are far more advanced and favored within the kingdom of God than animals are? After all, God’s word tells us this about the sixth day of creation:

So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Genesis 1:27-28

“Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Not a request but a command to rule and have dominion over creatures that are not human. This is why we carry ourselves as we do. We were told to by God Himself.

But this truth leads me to a follow on question:

Are we really any better off than the animals we are to rule over?

If we look at things from a worldly perspective, the answer is no.

This is the point Solomon is making in today’s scripture passage from Ecclesiastes and the focal point of today’s sixth devotion under the meaningless theme. Look again at these verses:

I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?” Ecclesiastes 3:18-21

God may have directed us to rule over the creatures He made but that alone didn’t make us better than them. We breathe the same air as the animals do and the same worldly fate awaits man and animals, that being death of course. We will all become dust when it all is over with whether you are a human or an animal. We strive to be better than the animals but in reality all we do in the world that is above them is for not in the end. For death is the great equalizer, the end of a life that becomes meaningless when it’s all over with. That is, unless you have something more than this world can offer, something that changes the game we call life and extends the amount of time we get to experience it, not just temporarily but eternally.

You see, we are no better off than the animals if we live without receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior. He is the one who places a renewed meaning into a meaningless worldly existence. And He is the only way to God, period (John 14:6).

Want to live forever, living beyond the fate of the animals?

You had better turn to Jesus and receive His offer of salvation. For without Him, life is indeed meaningless, fleeting, and no better than the one the animals have.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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