A Good Name

A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.  It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.  Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.  The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.  Ecclesiastes 7:1-4.

 

Working at a good name takes perspiration more often than not, for there are plenty of people out there with reputation hatchets willing to chop your actions up or give them a slant they don’t deserve.

So now you know my first reaction to the text centered on the reputation thing…

My second reaction turned to the context and connections a good name came with.  I don’t think Solomon’s purpose is to just randomly throw out platitudes, though these ideas might seem to have nothing to do with a good name.  The rest of verse one and the other three turn our attention to death, sorrow and the attitude of the wise.  It is no coincidence he first speaks of a good name then turns our attention to the place of death and sorrow.

The idea being to show what is good in life while revealing the only way to appreciate it fully.  The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.  The word “fools” as we discussed before is one who is morally deficient.  The heart of a person is the essence of their being (the self) in a sense; the mind and attention, if you will.  It’s the essence of the internal person.  So the wise think about the reality with a certain soberness in order to bring value to living as much as possible.  The fools chase pleasure as if it were the answer to the futility wise men speak of so eloquently.  Now this doesn’t mean wisdom keeps laughter at bay rather it means we don’t lose sight of reality for the sake of a laugh.

Solomon declares that neither wisdom nor foolishness actually solves the problem of death and loss—that which makes everything meaningless—however, pursuing wisdom and healthy enjoyment of everything being “alive” means brings a specific fulfillment to it the other won’t.  If I plant good things into my son, on my deathbed with him near me I’ll be able to see the fruit of my work in him.  Passing on the value of life and living in such a way as to value those along the road is the point.

Knowing the destiny of every man doesn’t necessarily mean we have to be morose and I don’t get this from the author’s diatribe on laughter’s comparison to the crackling of thorns either.  What makes more sense is that fools pursue pleasure minus substance of reality.  A person who drinks alcohol for enjoyment does so in moderation in order to also enjoy other things; a person who drinks alcohol for any other reason tends to be headed for disaster.  Narcissists have a propensity for excess, all for the sake of feeling good or getting whatever high they can sustain.  That’s why people stay drunk for long periods of time, they want to sustain their “high” indefinitely. The problem, as I mentioned before, is that once we remain intoxicated or high at a certain level it begins to feel “normal” which means to feel any different we have to do more to notice a change.

Fools look for the sustained high and do their best to make that the norm of life.  Unfortunately, they either ignore or refuse to deal with the variety in life.  For instance, not to be gross, but when we eat food or drink water we must eliminate it sometime then repeat.  The wonderful tastes we put in our mouth must also hold some nutrition or we are taking in empty calories.  Children don’t care because they would eat candy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; conscientious parents recognize this and make candy or sweets a reward for eating other foods more nutritious.  There’s nothing wrong with candy as a treat but it can’t be a meal.  Fools, however, believe or want to believe they should always get candy and nothing else.

Death is the destiny of everyone, therefore recognizing it either brings despair or purpose.  A person who gives into despair might become bitter, or they might just go narcissistic.  The motives won’t matter to the outcome really because both mindsets (and everything else in between) end with death and no quality of life.  Those who find a purpose learn to enjoy everything life offers while they live.  This attitude doesn’t single out one specific thing and obsess over it but concentrates on bringing quality living to all aspects.  Since we are alive and here on earth, the purpose minded decide to make the best of the few years given by creating a good name and heritage.

As followers of Jesus we do this in His context, with His mindset and attitude.  Our lives are not futile nor are we hopeless anymore.  So, understanding what life is without the hope of the cross opens our minds up to what a gift we have been given in Christ Jesus.

Metaphorically Speaking

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.  This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”  John 6:51.

 No where is there a more poignant argument for what Jesus does for us than this passage.  When Jesus says “bread,” we think about loaves of wheat or white, but at this point I don’t think He’s talking just about food, do you?  What “bread” does for a person is sustain their life, but not only keep them alive, for it gives necessary energy to accomplish love, work, celebration, faith, hope, family, fun, and more.  Without food we die, it’s that simple.

So when Jesus calls Himself the “bread of life” or the “living bread that came down from heaven,” He’s telling us metaphorically that He is the essence of life.  With all that bread does for us, He created the possibilities; nothing has life in and of itself, for all things are for Him, to Him and from Him; nothing was made without Him.  His death and resurrection would bring life to the world.

The very life coursing through our veins is His energy in us.

When He speaks of eternal life, Jesus isn’t merely pointing to a meaningless existence where the years roll by endlessly without point or purpose.  No, He offers us more life than we’ve ever known or been able to imagine.  How do I know this to be what He promises?  Scripture tells us so.

When things are repeated in Scripture, it means the writer or God wants us to get a specific point.  The phrase Jesus keeps saying,  “and I will raise him up at the last day,”  is said four times in this chapter to emphasize what?  The resurrection specifically?  Yes, but also to point out the fact that the world cannot defeat those who are in Christ.  The believer cannot lose by dying because it is merely a state of rest before the morning dawns.  Yet raising a man up not only means Jesus will raise us bodily from grip of death, but also exalt us to be with Him forever.

There is a caveat, however, to all this promise of reward, for Jesus tells them,  “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…”  which makes it impossible to miss the point.  In another reference to this Jesus claimed,  “Many are called, but few are chosen.”  Everyone is called to salvation, life and obedience.  God calls us all to reconcile with Him and forgives our past with the blood of Jesus.  However, if someone refuses this call, they cannot be chosen for life because the only life that can endure eternity is one purified by the blood of the Lamb.

The Jews believed they were listening and understanding God.  Jesus disabuses them of that notion by giving them a sign of their disobedience to Scripture,  “It is written in the Prophets:  ‘They will all be taught by God.’  Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to me.”  By default the opposite is true as well, those who don’t listen to the Father will not come to Jesus.  In other words these very people who were so educated in the Law and Prophets and considered themselves careful observers of both, demonstrated by their unbelief they hadn’t listened to the Father.  So not everyone who says,  “Lord, Lord” will enter eternal life.

Now the Master confronts their argument about manna, which they used to pressure Him into giving them a sign again.  It didn’t make sense before today to me why they were calling on this fact from history thinking it would persuade Christ to act, but now I think I grasp what they were saying.  Manna fell every morning before dawn like dew or frost on the ground.  Every morning the Children of Israel would gather enough food for the day except on the weekly Sabbath.  The Jews who had eaten across the lake the day before, were insinuating Jesus should feed them daily as a sign of His authority.

“I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.  I am the bread of life.  Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died.”  “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.”

He totally annihilates their argument.  The Jews in the wilderness were disobedient even though they had a daily demonstration of God’s provision.  In fact, those above a certain age were forbidden to enter the promised land because of their lack of faith.  You remember when the 12 explorers came back with their stories of how powerful the Canaanites were, the entire camp grew so afraid they were ready to stone Moses and Aaron.  Because of their lack of faith they died in the wilderness.

Jesus reminds them of the fact that their forefathers had the sign of the manna everyday yet still didn’t believe.  If manna didn’t save the people in the wilderness, another meal wouldn’t be enough to save those challenging Jesus.  Only those who believe can enter the promised land.

I’m pretty sure because of the conversation which follows His nuanced reference to their forefathers’ unbelief angered them.  He refused to give them any more evidence than what they had already received as assurance of His good will and power.  From here on He (and G0d the Father) would require them to step out in faith based on the evidence at hand.  Those wanting a free ride resented and resisted His efforts to point them in the right direction.

The question John’s gospel asks us is:  Will we?

God is Personal

“Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.  Matthew 7: 13, 14.

Hell’s gate is wide, impersonal and about mass destruction.  The narrow gate to life is about individuals, not just because few find it, but for the simple reason that God is our shepherd who counts us one by one.  The way to Hell is impersonal, detached and careless of the individual; the way to life is careful about each and every person that goes through it.

A wide gate allows many people through it; counting that many would take skill beyond my ability to accomplish.  The gate to life allows one to two through at a time because it’s narrow.  Jesus used this illustration to show not only the difficulty of being saved and how few find it, but to make sure we understood God’s personal interest in each one of us.  A sheep pen in his day would have a small gate for the animals to go through in order for the shepherd to count the sheep.  Now more than one sheep could enter at a time but the narrowness of it allowed the shepherd to keep track of who was present and who was missing.

To further emphasize my point let me give some references from Scripture:

Isaiah 40: 26; Revelation 3: 20; John 10: 3; Luke 15: 3-7.

And these are just a few references, there are many more, I assure you.  If God has the stars numbered (a thing astronomers can only approximate) and knows them each by name, we have a God that is intricately involved in His creation.  The act of standing at the door of our hearts, knocking, willing to come in and eat with us speaks volumes about how personal our God is in Jesus.  In the disciples day to eat with someone meant you were on personal terms with them–especially if you ate with them alone.  What would it mean for us if we knew that God considered us His children?  If He calls all His sheep by name, He knows mine and your’s.  For Him to go out after just one sheep on a rescue mission means so much in the argument for a personal God.

Those who argue against a personal god have a point, I guess, but not in the teachings of Christ.  God wants to be personal with us, it’s part of His nature for that is how He created us!

How does God get involved in our lives?  Is it through giving us everything we want or desire?  Isn’t that more like an impersonal Santa Claus who comes into our lives once a year?

Ask yourself this:  Do we give our children everything they ask for, allow them to go anywhere they want or teach them adult themes before they are ready?  Then why would God do any different?  To understand God even a little, we have to grow up to the faith of a child and get rid of childish ways.

Sounds like an oxymoron or dichotomy, but really it points to taking on the childlike faith and ridding ourselves of self-absorption.  I disagree with those who say we must be others centered, for that is a world view rather than a godly view.  Instead our view must be Christ centered.  All other people and issues must be filtered through this POV.

Last point:  If God is personal with His children and knows them each by name, what does that tell us we need to be with each other?