We are all here for a short time.
How does one overcome the perspective of Solomon, “Meaningless, meaningless, says the Teacher.. the Rabbi.”
Is my Rabbi saying this? It feels kind of discouraging… ya know?
So what the hell am I doing here? Not “making a difference”. There is no no difference to make when it is all meaningless.
I can literally stay quiet and do nothing. I can become a monk and live in a mountain rocky cave like a marmot and live out my days in oblivion. It doesn’t matter.
Solomon did tell us what matters in the end however… didn’t he?
Does anyone stick around to the end to hear him out?
I’d like to hear what the dude concluded. This very wise and sassy other version of me who got to “try everything” just like the gazelle sang about in Zootopia.
So what did he say?
And this is the end of the matter… from the final verses of the final chapter of his magnum opis:
Concluding Thoughts about the Teacher
8“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.”
9Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them. 10The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.
11The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.
12But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.
13That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. 14God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.
–Ecclesiastes 12 NLT
So… wisdom does relieve suffering. This is a tremendous benefit while we are here. It brings heaven on earth. But is it necessary? No… but…
God will judge you.
He will assess you… by your choices. Everything you do. Did you obey his commands to trust him and love others? I mean, lets be real here. Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Not just: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It’s a great start|!
Not leaving it at: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Which is a pretty epic proactive way of fleshing out his meaning.
But, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
That’s the commands Solomon is refering to. This is the end of the matter.
How did you do?
What do you want to do differently now?
I came to the conclusion: I can do better.
Know better. Do better.
We can do this.
Is there any more commentary on Ecclesiastes 12 needed?
I believe so.
Let’s look at the phrase: Fear God.
How I want to shift attention off myself right now. I’d rather talk about how I’ve observed others not doing that… as if to say, “See! I am not alone in my rebellion. Stop assessing me. Stop judging me for my profound failure. Yes. I have taken Jesus lightly. I have not obeyed his command to love others as he has loved me.
I’m seeing something here though… not quite a loophole. In fact I turn myself in. Not looking for a way out. I plead guilty… and insane. I’m sorry. I was unconscious of love. If I am not helped significantly every moment of every day I will likely remain unconscious of how to love. I plead insanity, so I end up in the mental ward of heaven. I want to stay I love it here so much! I am being healed! Rehabilitated! Soon enough my chakras will be humming at full steam.
But, what I am seeing is the obviousness of the fact that you can only love others to the extent that you allow yourself to be loved by God. You only can give out what you have received.
This is no loophole however because how are you going to fault Jesus when he is the epitome of Love? You and I both damn well know that we are the ****ups here. Have I got your attention? astericks alwasy get my attention.
Jesus told me: “I am as present and ‘experienced’ in your life as you have allowed me to be. Your experience of me is dictated by you. You are afraid. You are afraid of loosing the absolute fury of my love. You are, in fact, afraid of your own shame. But that is but a mere shadow. My light obliterates every shadow. God is Light in whom there is no shadow. God is Light in whom we live and move and have our being.
I am wonderfully nostalgic tonight.
Reality is like fine wine. Not readily appreciated by children.
Very appreciated by the criminally insane condemned to be rehabilitated in heavens mental ward.
Indeed.
MagnifiQue.
So what now?
Fear God?
We better start by capitalizing god.
We’ve been over all the failures. It’s tiresome old news. It’s history. It’s white as the pure driven snow baby. It’s okay to be right where you are at in your maturity. There is no shame anymore dear mental ward patient.
We love you.
We are here for you. And, we are hear for you. We will listen.
God said to me first thing this morning.
“Today is the day.”
Your book is done.
You have always been “done”.
You are the book I am writing.
Every day a new chapter, a new installment, of this Truman Show… this Daniel show.
You can run but you can never hide from my love and my watchful gaze. All of heaven is tuned in to your show. You are a required course in the schools of heaven. Everything and everyone is… How do you think we can know it all?
This doesn’t make us “know it all’s” in the sense you are thinking. There is far more than resistance to love that has firmly anchored us in Love. Amor Conquistó TODO. Yes, Love has conquered ALL.
So it becomes easy then to introduce myself and invite you to become a patient yourself in the mental ward in heaven. I lovingly call it: The Church of the Mystic Realms. And I’m ordained! Can you believe it? I am Sir Pastor Daniel the First of the Church of the Mystic Realms.
So let’s be friends. You can be dumb and I’ll be dumber.
You will feel SO smart habgin out with me. But matbe you are the one who has been dummer…
Got ya!
Daniel Lovett 