Human beings and animals share the same fate. One dies just like the other—both have the same life-breath. Humans are no better off than animals because everything is pointless. — Ecclesiastes 3:19
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. — Revelation 21:4
Never read Ecclesiastes if you’re having a bad day. While there are some bright spots, most of it is a variation on one theme: Nothing is really fair when you look at life, so the most you can do is enjoy today with people you love. That’s scratching something positive out of the overwhelming pain and injustice that fill our days.
While I complain about such pessimism, the truth is that I agree with it on a base level. My first impulse is to question why this world was created with a hunter-prey mentality, along with natural disasters that overwhelm, crush, and leave death in their wake. And I will continue questioning.
Yet, taking a step back, there’s something even more remarkable than this pessimism. It’s how any optimism can still take root and grow in the first place. The gospel Jesus proclaimed about God’s kingdom of compassion and justice, grace and forgiveness, was born in an era that was dripping with blood and brutality. You’d have to be on psychedelics to believe that goodness would triumph. But when these early believers witnessed the Resurrection, they were willing to die–sometimes hideously–for that belief. And why not? They had somehow witnessed God turning the blood and pain of the cross into the spirit and light of the opened tomb. They had no doubt that Christ walked with them today and would do so tomorrow.
We can absolutely live and love today as if that’s all we have, as Ecclesiastes teaches. But can we also believe that there’s a more powerful counter-force? That tomorrow is not the end but a hope-filled new beginning, as the gospel teaches?
John Keat’s poem, “Ode to a Grecian Urn,” ends with: “Beauty is truth, truth beauty—that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.” There is an underlying beauty in life, regardless. And for Christians, that beauty points to a Jesus who will wipe away every tear that’s ever been shed.
Your writing here reminds me of many thoughts and questions that occupy my mind a lot these days. I’m consoled by the hope of all will eventually be alright. Thanks be to God!
Greg, thanks for this meditation….I have the same questions & concerns as you….glad to know I’m not alone in my quest for Truth and Hope. 🙏💕