Today’s Devotion
Topic: The Ironies Of Life
Text: Ecclesiastes 7: 2
It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart. Amen.
For as long as we remain alive, there are certain ironies which will forever characterize life as we know it. No one can do away with them. Some call them ‘ironies of life’, others, ‘contrasts of life.’ However we describe them, the truth is that we experience them by God’s great design and according to His purpose in us.
In chapter three of the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon says, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away” (vs 1-5). These are all ironies of life.
In today’s text, Solomon admonishes us to not only spend time attending parties in ‘houses of feasting’, but to spend time at ‘houses of mourning’ too. This is because “Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.” (vs 3 & 4).
Time spent in houses of mourning helps us to come to terms with these realities of life;
1) Death is the destiny of everyone (unless rapture meets us first)
2) No one knows the length of his/her days on this earth. So we had better live each day for the Lord, as if it was our last.
3) Days of ‘sorrow’ are as necessary to the circle of life as the days of joy. Especially if we learn from its refining influence to become better people than we were.
It has been said that each person should take a voluntary trip to the hospital or morgue at least once in their lifetime and observe what goes on there. The brevity of life cannot be overemphasized.
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment; So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Heb 9: 27- 28 KJV). Why won’t you run to Him for this salvation that is RICH, yet FREE?
Meditate seriously on this word and begin to pray. Ask God to give you a heart of wisdom that will learn to number its days. After all, for the Christian, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
In this life, yes, in your life time, just fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind (Ecclesiastics. 12:13), till He appears or calls us to glory to walk the streets of gold and SPEND ETERNITY WITH HIM.
And O what joy that will be; a perpetual end to all our toils and sorrows on earth. For God will wipe away all tears from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev 21: 4).
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