June 5th, 20

JUNE 5,  Once you were far away but now you have been brought near.

Ecclesiastes 1 - 3, Psalm 45, and Ephesians 2

Meaningless!  Meaningless, cries the Preacher.  All is meaningless, he cries.  Try as he might, he cannot reconcile the brokenness of life, even his own life.  Nothing, in the end, seems to be right.  All seems to be wrong.  He cannot find a way to mend life’s disparities.  He has eternity in his heart, and yet, the present is fraught with fractures.  Nothing makes sense.  

But Paul, in Ephesians, cries out something different. 

You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. (Eph 2:12-13 NLT)

Christ himself has brought us peace, through the cross, by his blood.  In Christ the Good News has come to us.  No longer is life meaningless and hopeless.  No.  Now we have life in him.  When we are tempted to see the world through the old lens of despair and hopelessness, we can now look to the life and sacrifice of Jesus.  In our hopelessness and despair, he has offered his love.  His love led him to a Cross, so he could free us from despair and offer us life here and now, with eternal purposes, and present joy.  

The preacher says,  Everything is meaningless, completely meaningless! (Eccl 1:2 NLT) but Paul says he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (Eph 2:5 NLT)

There is someone far greater than Solomon, who is able to mend the human soul and make you new. And one day he will make all things new.

Step into the eternal purpose He offers you, in Christ, by faith; so that you can begin to live in His joy and strength.   

You are loved!