Today's Reading
Ecclesiastes. "11 The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep." This verse near the end of the book seems to be a description of how to use it. Let the wise words poke us and prod us as we learn to walk in God's ways.
2 Corinthians. At this time, the Jewish Christians were in an economic crisis. Therefore, many of the poor, struggling Gentiles churches were sacrificing to help their brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul adds to his plea a request that Corinth, who had much more wealth, give an abundant offering on top of what the poor churches had already given. "4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. " It's hard to believe that people "begged" to give. However, I have seen such a heart among Dominicans who are poor in this world and rich in faith.
Psalms. We must learn to look at life through eternal lenses.
Proverbs today makes me wonder if this is something Solomon told a distinguished guest and which got recorded by a scribe.
What do you notice?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The one thing in Ecclesiastes that leaves me scratching my head is the use of the phrase "everything is meaningless" over and over. I guess I don't quite understand what is meant by this.
ReplyDeleteSorry I didn't get back to this yesterday, Lara. I think Solomon tried to fill up his life with the things of this world. Nothing worked! That's because he quit putting God first. Part of the lesson of Ecclesiastes, I think, is what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33: "Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you." The moment we start to seek the things first, life starts losing its deep sense of meaning and value. That's what I believe happened to Solomon, even with all his wisdom.
ReplyDelete