“I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14).
“And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’” (Revelation 21:5)
The book of Ecclesiastes is a philosophical, reflective book. It observes life on earth and concludes time and again that everything is “futile” or “meaningless”. People work hard, they toil to accumulate wealth or to gain respect, but eventually they die and all has been in vain. In the end, nothing new happens on earth. The same patterns keep repeating themselves. This insight is depressing. So, Ecclesiastes concludes, “All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it” (Ecclesiastes 1:8).
This feeling can slowly affect our attitude. Life is sometimes hard and all our efforts seem to have but little effect. We wonder what the meaning of life is. If we only look at “everything under the sun”, there is little perspective indeed. The Bible itself recognizes that this creation is “subjected to futility” (Romans 8:20).
But there is more. There is a spiritual world beyond this earth, and a life after death. That offers hope. God promises deliverance from meaninglessness and gives us the prospect of a new, perfect world for anyone who accepts Jesus as Lord. He says, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). Are you looking forward to that?