Daily Devotions
Hope Above the Sun
Title: Hope Above the Sun
Reading for April 10: 1 Kings 3-5
And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand of the seashore...
1 Kings 4:29
Solomon was wise, but there was one question he couldn't answer. He asked the question in the book of Ecclesiastes: "What does a man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?"
That's a big question. Who can answer it? Solomon tried. He was the wisest man of his generation. He searched for anything under the sun that might prove to be profitable, and in the end he came up empty.
"Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity." (Eccl 1:2; also 12:8)
Ultimately, Solomon had to search and look "above the sun" to find meaning and purpose:
"The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil." (Eccl 12:13-14)
And what was explained by Solomon in theory, was shown to be true by Jesus in reality. Jesus' resurrection gives us hope of a life "above the sun" where we are not stuck in an endless cycle of meaninglessness. Jesus gives our labor meaning, as the apostle Paul said in his great chapter on the resurrection:
"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." (1 Cor 15:58)
Father, thank you for Jesus whom you raised from the dead and gave us hope of everlasting life. Thank you for giving our labor in this life meaning.
