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| “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” |
| —Ecclesiastes 2:11 |
Do you ever look back over your life and ask whether what you’ve accomplished has genuine value?
If God so allows it, in just five short months, I will reach an important milestone, as I complete 72 years of life. I know that old men often become nostalgic, longing for the “good old days.” I admit that I feel a little bit nostalgic. But mostly, I feel a sense of failure. As I look back over my life, I’m not at all certain that I have lived up to my potential. I’m not certain that I’ve accomplished everything that I should have accomplished. I fear that sometimes I have taken the easy way out and not forced myself to accomplish more.
I know I’m not alone in that feeling. King Solomon accomplished far more in his life than I have ever accomplished. Yet, he was not certain he had lived up to his potential either. Notice what he wrote, as recorded in Ecclesiastes 2:4-11:
I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.
I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.
I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart.
I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
I think to myself, “If Solomon felt that all he accomplished was meaningless, how much more should I feel that way when I consider my own puny life?” And yet, I know that God has chartered the pathway of my life. I committed my life to him way back in 1956 at the age of nine. I know for certain that He has guided me through my life and I recognize that everything I have accomplished has been through His enabling.
Perhaps that should be good enough. Instead of looking back with regret, I should look back with thanksgiving and joy that He has nudged me along the way and opened up so many wonderful opportunities for me.
That’s a lesson for all of us. We will never really know, this side of eternity, what we have truly accomplished in our lives. We need to trust God that His plan is perfect. He is the One who determines what value our life has. If we have devoted ourselves to serving Him, He is the One who judges our success. And, it is a much better reality to accept that in His love for us, He will accept our offering of ourselves to Him as the best accomplishment we could ever have.
