Dear friends
As we kicked off term 4 a couple of weeks ago our Young Adults group decided Ecclesiastes would be a fun book for us to study for the term. I don’t know if you’ve read it recently or are familiar with the book, but it’s a deep reflection from a “teacher” who’s struggling with big questions. In the first few lines of the book the teacher says this:
“What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.” (NIV)
All of us work hard in life, many of us are really busy, but in the end what does it all mean when on a cosmic scale our lives are over in the blink of an eye?
As we studied this in young adults I expected our group to find theses ideas fairly depressing, but to my surprise actually to most of our group this was an encouraging read. Why? Our young adults were encouraged because they saw that the Bible doesn’t paper over the big questions or tell us to just smile and pretend things are okay.
The Bible asks the real questions and in the end it has the real answers. God has made us for eternity and in following Jesus we can find a sort of hope that lasts beyond our limited time on this earth. I think 2020 has shown us pretty clearly that it’s that sort of hope that we need.
Matt Winter
Associate Pastor | Trinity Church Brighton
0406 124 006 | matt.winter@trinity.church | Day Off Thursdays