Is Life Meaningless?
If you’ve ever read through the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, you might have felt its weight—a sense of futility, even despair. The opening words, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2), seem to echo across the pages with a stark message: life is fleeting, temporary, and often perplexing. It might even make you feel like throwing a pity party. After all, who wants to hear that everything is “meaningless”?
But is that truly all Ecclesiastes has to say?
The Hebrew word translated as “vanity” or “meaningless” is hebel, which conveys the idea of something fleeting, like a vapor or breath. Think of building a sandcastle on the beach, only for the tide to wash it away. That’s hebel—the futility of investing all our time and energy into things that don’t last. The author isn’t saying life itself is inherently worthless but rather that life focused on temporal, earthly pursuits alone will ultimately leave us empty.
A Call to Reevaluate
Ecclesiastes invites us to step back and take an honest look at life. Like Proverbs, it asks us to reflect on our choices, but with a broader lens: What is the meaning of life itself? The book repeatedly points out how fleeting everything is: “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14).
We chase after wealth, power, pleasure, or success, but these pursuits are like chasing the wind—grasping at something you can never hold. Yet, Ecclesiastes doesn’t leave us without hope. Instead, it redirects us to what truly matters: not chasing the wind, but chasing the Creator of the wind.
The Hope in Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes culminates with a profound conclusion: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). At first glance, this might sound like yet another burden—a list of commands to follow. But when we read Ecclesiastes through the lens of the gospel, we see a richer, deeper truth.
This call to “fear God” is not about trembling in terror but standing in awe of our Creator, who designed us for eternal purposes. It’s about orienting our lives around Him, rather than around the fleeting pursuits of this world. The author’s reflections anticipate the good news: that true meaning and eternal joy are found not in our striving but in the finished work of Christ.
Jesus Himself is the answer to the despair of Ecclesiastes. He redeems the hebel of life by giving us an eternal perspective. In Christ, our labor is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). Through Him, even the simplest acts—loving others, serving faithfully, or enjoying God’s good gifts—are imbued with eternal significance.
Don’t Chase the Wind
Ecclesiastes calls us to constant evaluation: What are we living for? Where are we placing our hope? If we build our lives on anything other than God, it will crumble like a sandcastle before the tide. But when we “remember our Creator” (Ecclesiastes 12:1) and anchor our lives in the gospel, we find the meaning we long for.
Life under the sun may be fleeting, but life in the Son is eternal. So don’t chase the wind—rest in the One who commands it.