June 19, 2024

Ecclesiastes 3.11 (NIV)

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

It [faith] is the surest road to realizing that “the only thing I know is that I don’t know anything.”*

Remember the old song, “Everything is beautiful in its own way. . .”? But then there’s the adage:  “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” Or, my personal favorite: “Beauty is only skin deep” to which a friend added, “But ugly goes all the way to the bone.”

So what is true? Could we say that everything is beautiful because God made it? Perhaps Solomon meant that everything is beautiful when it fulfills its intended purpose. Maybe he was referring to events, not things. You know what is beautiful about this? All of these options are truths.

“He has set eternity in the hearts of men.” Some think we have an in-born understanding of eternity; others think that God has given us a craving for eternity. My opinion, for what it’s worth, is that our hearts are the starting place of eternity. 

It’s ironic that the last clause of this verse is the only one I understand – the one that says we don’t understand God! It is true that the longer I walk with God - the more I learn about him - the less I understand. I am more in awe of him and more in love with him but I cannot fathom all that he has done. God continuously reveals new layers of meaning as I spend time in his Word.

And maybe that’s what Solomon is telling us: nothing is more beautiful in its time than the Word.

I must hold to revealed truth, but also allow God to be greater than my understanding of him.*