PPic: Oberon Golf Course - Links Pro Am 2006

PGA Chaplain Bible Studies

Weekly Study No 25 - 15 / 09/ 2009

Ecclesiastes Ch 9

“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. As it is with the good man, so it is with the sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them. This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. Anyone who is among the living has hope-even a live dog is better off than a dead lion.”(Ecclesiastes Chapter 9: verses 1, and verses 2 to 4 NIV)

Living with the good and the bad!

Within all of us there is an inbuilt sense of justice and accountability. In golf we don’t like cheats, even though we have all cheated at some stage in life. We do not like it when those who do wrong prosper and those who do right suffer. But no matter how we consider ourselves we all die in the end together. It may surprise us that our author puts all of humanity in the same box, not only in dying, but also because we are all inclined towards evil. The bible is clear that this is the reason we all die, because we have sinned against God. Is it worth then trying to be good? Yes it is. Even though we are inclined towards evil, in every one of us is also the stamp of God’s likeness and image and we all have the capacity to do good and make this world a good place to live. But the common destiny for us all is the grave; such is life under the sun.

The term “under the sun” is the observation that we can only see from our perspective. But God through scripture and in the life of Jesus offers another view that is beyond the sun that speaks of eternity and life after death.

Jesus came from heaven and so is able to bring a message of greater hope. He has lived the good life and suffered the fate of us all in dying, but with Jesus there is a difference. In him there was no evil and so he did not die for his own sins but for ours. In dying for our sins he also gave us his life and a second chance. While Jesus offers us no assurances of a good life under the sun; in fact he offers only a cross for us to carry, his uniqueness is in the gift of life beyond the grave. This gift needs to be embraced and followed.

So Jesus has won a place beyond this life under the sun where not everyone will go, but only those who believe in and follow him. The unbelieving and wicked will not share in this place. To embrace Jesus is to share in a place or righteousness where God rules. His rising from the dead is an assurance to those who believe and follow Jesus will enjoy the fullness of life Jesus came to bring. To reject Jesus is to follow the path that leads to death or a life where the absence of God will final. His life shows justice will come in the end, but mercy is for those who seek it.

Our author lived in a time of frustrated hopes and fortunes, but Jesus came to bring the light of life that will never be diminished.

Prayer. Lord in this life I have to take the good with the bad, but thank you in Jesus and beyond this life is the hope of a better world where you reign as king. Amen..

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