COMIC SERIES: Futility

This series was originally written on December 5, 2021

Will every person feel the same way as the preacher (most likely Solomon) or jerry when they get to the end of their lives? I cannot know. I don’t even know if I will. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but it is important to think about these things, no?

Read Ecclesiastes in its entirety. What a sad commentary on life. The preacher was immensely wealthy, powerful, and wise. He acquired everything people back then could possibly dream of. It’s frightening that even after all that, his essay on life seemed bitter, confused, sad, and nihilistic.

“All is vanity”, “there is no meaning”, “just eat, drink, and enjoy the fruit of your labor”, and “many things in life are great evils that just happen”. These are a few of the ideas found in Ecclesiastes. I think we can all agree with the preacher, that there are terrible things in this world and life that we just don’t understand. If this life is all there is, then I would be long gone.

What are our lives? Allow me to be negative but realistic. All earthly memories of me, Danny, will disappear one day, and I would argue it wouldn’t take that long. All of my accomplishments would be forgotten. That’s not to say that life is without purpose. It has many. If you use your life to help others, I applaud you, that is a noble life. As a Christian, I do things for God’s glory. Sadly sometimes I still ask the question: “why bother? If all passes away anyways?”

It seems like God holds the answer. I have yet to unpack it all, but here’s what I know: this life will eventually fade away, but the things we do here can have eternal consequences. Christ died so that we do not face despair, instead, we have a hope of eternal life, where all the evils and vanities the preacher saw would be no more. And it seems like the preacher, even in his despair, his confusion, at the end, still knew one thing for sure. He knew that God still reigns supreme.

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭12:13‬ ‭

I hope we can all consider the words of the preacher.

The “God-shaped hole” in your heart analogy was always a curious one to me. Obviously, not everyone agrees with it, look around the world today and we can see plenty of people who live just fine without God in their lives. If fulfillment is the only thing we examine, then there is a case to be made that one can lead a fulfilled life without God.

But that’s awfully short-sighted, isn’t it? First of all, fulfillment of this life means nothing when there is an eternity up ahead. And secondly, God’s powers extend far beyond “filling the hole in our hearts”. As mentioned in this comic, the depravity that is brought forth by sin is infecting every aspect of creation. The world is corrupt by God’s standards. I’m sure you will agree with me. When we see the tragedies, evils, and imperfections of the world, we instinctively long for something better. We know that this is not the way things are supposed to be.

But that knowledge isn’t enough. Humans have tried for millennia, and sure, great strides have been made towards the betterment of mankind, yet the evils just don’t seem like they will ever go away. Mankind’s nature is also corrupt, that’s why we have yet to see a utopia. On top of this, even the things that are seen as “good” or maybe even “perfect” in our eyes are still very incomplete compared to God’s standards.

The reality is, of course, all have sinned and are in desperate need of forgiveness and salvation which is freely offered. God promises that whosoever would trust in His redemptive work will one day become an eternal citizen of His kingdom, where creation will be renewed, and this time, it will no longer be groaning, it will be as God had intended it. This is the door that Christ opened for us through His sacrifice. This is His promise. Will we consider it today? Will we seek to learn more about it today? I admit that don’t have all the answers, and I don’t always live as I believe in His promises, but at the end of the day, I will still follow the one who knows all.