First published on April 22, 2024 as part of the Enjoy Life: From meaningless to meaningful series.
At this point in your life, you’ve probably been asked one or both of these questions:
- If you were told you were to die tomorrow, what would you do?
- If the world were to end tomorrow, what would you do tonight?
They are two different scenarios. The first sees life moving forward for the rest of the world without you in it. The second imagines the destruction of everything we know. For me, however, my answer to both is the same. I would gather my family and others that I love. We would spend time in prayer asking God to sustain us through the trial so that we would see His face at our end. I would want us to gather in laughter, remembering all the wonderful times God has provided us throughout our lives together. We would eat a scrumptious meal, most likely prepared by my husband, enjoy good wine, and pray some more.
Here’s the thing, we should live knowing that either scenario is possible.. That is, if we truly believe the message of the Bible. First, we will all die, just as we have seen in earlier chapters of Ecclesiastes. It’s not if but when. For every single one of us. Secondly, if it’s not the rapture coming upon us then we should be honest that the world is now filled with weapons that could easily kill us all. Does this mean we live every day in fear of these two truths? No, but truth can and should set us free to live in reality.
“All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.” Ecclesiastes 9:2
That “common destiny” is the evil we call death. So, what do we do with this truth? We live each day serving the one true God and live in gladness.
“Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart for God has already approved what you do. Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil.”Ecclesiastes 9:7-8
Gladness is not hedonism. Gladness is not escapism. Gladness isn’t folly. You could easily imagine, in fact movies and books have taken the “if the end were tomorrow what would we do” topic and shown us the possibilities the unrighteous might take. Some might go on drug, alcohol or sexual benders. Getting blotto to ease their fears or pain. The age-old “eat and drink because tomorrow we might die” path toward annihilation. It’s a twisting of the message found throughout Ecclesiastes. Other might go on a theft and destruction rampage. That thinking shines the light on people who live without wisdom or God.
Why shouldn’t we think this way? I mean your life is about to end, right? Let’s remember when Moses negotiated with God to save their people.
“But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.” Exodus 32:11-12
So here you are, you’ve committed every sin possible against man and God the night before you are to die and suddenly a righteous person pleads for mercy on the world’s behalf. The ungodly will surely find themselves on the wrong side of that historical moment. Or maybe that person is praying for your healing because you have been personally given that death sentence. Will God abide or will He see justice done?
That’s what the “fear of God” is about. It means recognizing that God is above us and that He will ultimately bring justice. Do we love God and therefore want to live our lives in service to Him? Or do we grieve the Holy Spirit daily, hourly even, and turn our backs on Him?
“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 9:5-6
Until the day we actually die we still have time. Time to submit ourselves to the Lord Most High. Time to reconcile with loved ones. Time to extend mercy and forgiveness in abundance. Time to enjoy our lives with gladness. Because once your time is up, the dead have no such chances.
“Joy is the serious business of heaven.” C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm
Living with gladness means making the most of ordinary moments because ordinary moments are precious. This moment will never come again. Our short lives pass quickly. Will we spend them in bitterness and anger? In the fog of folly and hedonism? Or in joyfulness and with endurance?
I saw a great example of taking everyday moments and making them full of gladness. Once a month a mom of four young children creates “Fancy Dinner Night.” The children all dress in their finest clothing. She makes picture menus of the meal she has planned. There are candles and cloth napkins and the fancy china. She plays the role of waitress and hands out the menus as though she is serving clients at a five-star Michelin restaurant. Even the toddler has a picture menu from which to choose his meal. She is training them not only to enjoy an everyday moment but how to act with character at mealtimes. It was so sweet and beautiful!
“Console yourself, dear Battos. Things may be better tomorrow. While there’s life, there’s hope. Only the dead have none.” Greek Poet Theokritos
There is always hope for tomorrow; a tomorrow filled with gladness. Why? Because we have the life and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He suffered the most gruesome of deaths to take on our sins. He sacrificed not only His human body but His heavenly one when he came to earth to live among us. He showed us what the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven will look like – ones who fully rely on God, they forgive and are forgiven, they put others ahead of themselves, they mourn over their sin. And when He was resurrected, He proved that those Kingdom Citizens will also be raised from the dead and be given yet another new life. What amazing hope we have for our eternal lives after this short time here on earth.
When we live in gladness and joy, we seek to serve others in His Holy Name. We love others well in His name. We take every moment, even in the trials and tribulations, and thank Him for providing for us, for healing us, and being our guiding light. So why oh, why would we want to miss out on that hope? Why would we not want to share that hope with those around us who choose daily leaning toward something less?
“It’s not by searching for special things that we find joy, but by making the everyday things special.” Warren Wiersbe
Friends, our time here is truly short so consider well your answers to the first two questions I presented. Because eternity is forever. A forever spent in the presence of the glory of God or of the pain of hell.
“So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.” Ecclesiastes 9:1
King Solomon eventually, in his study of the meaningless life, discovers that we do, in fact, know what awaits us. If we take the narrow path set before us by Jesus we are greeted with unmeasurable love. Our knowledge of that truth should give us the endurance to live each day in gladness. And to spread that truth to so many others.
Are you saving your best china for a special occasion that never seems to come? Take it out. Light the candles. Invite the neighbors you’ve always wanted to know. Make an ordinary evening special.
Our time here is short, but in Christ our hope is eternal. So rejoice in the gifts God has given you. Love generously. Forgive freely. Serve faithfully. And while you have breath, enjoy life with gladness.
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” C.S. Lewis
