The way I see it

The way I see it
In the book of Ecclesiastes we read,
“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. 
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 2:10,11.
If there is no God then the above statement is true.”everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind;...”
Some atheist say when we die we will live on in the memories of others. A statement that is not completely true. Perhaps if we have made a great discovery we may be remembered in some history book. But most of us will be forgotten within a generation or so.
Ask yourself, where was your great, great, great grandmother or father born? What was the colour of their eyes? What was their favourite piece of music? Where is their grave? What was their greatest achievement? Few people can answer these questions.
So my question to anyone who does not believe in God is where is the purpose in life if we are forgotten within a few generations? If all our achievements are only remembered in some dusty history book, or for that matter not at all?
The way I see it without God, life is meaningless. God’s existence makes life worthwhile. God gives us something to look forward to when this life is over.
And I am convinced that if we follow the advice of Paul and Silas who said to their Jailor,
"...Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household." Acts 16:31 we will spend eternity in heaven.
Please think about it.

Nothing Gained

Nothing gained
The book of Ecclesiastes records,
"I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. 
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 2:10,11.
For me if there is no God life is meaningless.
If all life is, is gathering a few bobbles, bangles and beads. Gathering wealth or for that matter doing great deeds. Life is meaningless. For all of the things we have acquired in this life will be dispersed among others when we die. As for those who do great deeds many if not all with the passage of time will be forgotten. Their names found only in history books.
The writer of Ecclesiastes got it perfectly right when he wrote,
  “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole  duty  of man. 
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.
The writer also states,
“Better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for all are destined to be mourned; the living should lay this to heart.” Ecclesiastes 7:2.
While we shouldn’t dwell on death. I firmly believe we should ask ourselves the question “what will happen to me when I die?”
Tony Campolo the American evangelist make a good point when he states,
“When you were born, you cried and everybody else was happy. The only question that matters is this - when you die, will you be happy when everybody else is crying?”Tony Campolo 
Will you?
Please think about it.

Place your bet

Place your bet

“A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” 

“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 

The grass withers and the flowers fall, 

because the breath of the LORD blows on them. 

Surely the people are grass. 

The grass withers and the flowers fall, 

but the word of our God stands forever.” 

                                               Isaiah 40:6-8.

You are grass and all of the glory you gain in this world are like the flowers of the field.
You grow old. You body strong in your youth slowly fades with age until you pass from this life.
All that you have done your achievements may be retained in the memory of those who loved you. Or, if you are lucky, in history books or on some stone pillar, even on the internet. Still even those achievements will one day be forgotten.
The writer of Ecclesiastes writing from a human prospective wrote,
“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. 
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 2:10,11.
The writer was right. If we look at things from the point of view of this world life is meaningless. If all we are here to do is produce the next generation and gather a few bangles bobbles and beads then isn’t life meaningless.
There however is more to being human. The way I see it is human beings are eternal beings destined to live throughout eternity and a place of our choosing.
In creating humans God did not make robots. He created individuals with a freewill to do as they wished. That freewill extends to our belief in God. Which by God’s design comes down to an act of faith. The writer of Hebrews telling us,

“And without faith it is impossible to please God,

 because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists 

and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” 

                                                                  Hebrews 11:6

Of faith, of belief, Blaise Pascal wrote,
“Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists. Blaise Pascal.
Thus the question becomes,
Where do you place your bet?
Please think about it.