Why you were created----does your life reflect this?

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (GNT)

After all this, there is only one thing to say: Have reverence for God, and obey His commands, because this is all that we were created for.  God is going to judge everything we do, whether good or bad, even things done in secret.

The book of Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon during the later stages of his life when perhaps he was weary, even disillusioned, about what life really has to offer.  Solomon wrote about problems of depression, despair, boredom, apathy, and unfairness.  Two major themes of the book are that everything life on earth has to offer is vanity (“vanity of vanities, all is vanity) and life is an endless cycle of repeatable events, mostly negative (“nothing new under the sun”).  As I have written before, you need to read Ecclesiastes deeply and between the lines to understand that the real purpose of the book is to accept God and His purposes by faith and that’s all you can do. 

The last two verses of this predominantly depressing book state Solomon’s conclusions about what really is important about life.  Life on earth boils down to (1) reverence God and (2) obey His commands.  To me, these two conclusions relate closely to what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 (“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…….”) and what Jesus said were the two greatest commandments (“love God and love your neighbor as yourself”----Matthew 22:37-40 and Luke 10:27).

A friend sent an email message with the following “Isn’t it strange?” statements, some of which will not touch you or you'll see them as too cynical, but some might indeed touch your conscience.  I share these because they relate to the priority (or lack of) we give to God and His ways, the kind of reverence we have for Him and how well do we obey Him.    

·    Isn't it strange how a 20 dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go shopping?

·    Isn't it strange how 2 hours seem so long when you're at church, and how short they seem when you're watching a good movie?

·    Isn't it strange that you can't find a word to say when you’re praying, but you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?

·    Isn't it strange how difficult and boring it is to read one chapter of the Bible, but how easy it is to read 100 pages of a popular novel?

·    Isn't it strange how everyone wants front-row-tickets to concerts or games, but they do whatever is possible to sit at the last row in church?

·    Isn't it strange how we need to know about an event for church 2-3 weeks before the day so we can include it in our agenda, but we can adjust it for other events in the last minute?

·    Isn't it strange how difficult it is to learn a fact about God to share it with others, but how easy it is to learn, understand, extend and repeat gossip?

·    Isn't it strange how we believe everything that magazines and newspapers say, but we question the words in the Bible?

·    Isn't it strange how everyone wants a place in heaven, but they don't want to believe, do, or say anything to get there?

·    Isn't it strange how we send jokes in e-mails and they are forwarded right away, but when we are going to send messages about God, we think about it twice before we share it with others?

The Bible says that God will judge everything you do, no matter what it is. Yet, realize that gospel teaches that Jesus Christ took God’s judgment upon Himself and paid the penalty for all sin (Rom 8:3, Gal 3:13).  So whatever “bad” you have done, you have already been judged for your sins through Christ if you are truly born again.  Yet, you will be judged for your actions as a Christian (Rom 14:10-12, I Cor 5:10).  So, you might want to review the statements above and ask yourself how have you truly acted as a Christian.  Lack of actions to glorify God through what you could have done with your time, talent and treasure will part of your judgment process.  However, rewards await you for being faithful, for standing firm in the faith, for serving the Lord, and for being His witness, all reasons why you were created in the first place.  Where might changes need to be made in your Christian life?