29.20: #Ecclesiastes 1: Life Under the Sun is Meaningless

<p>As I write this, there is a volcano erupting on a &nbsp;tiny island off the coast of Africa called La Palma. It’s one of the &nbsp;Canary Islands which belong to Spain. The lava is eating up homes and &nbsp;businesses. Gratefully, there have been no injuries and 5000 people have &nbsp;been evacuated. However, these people have lost all their possessions &nbsp;and livelihoods. There is a chance that a huge piece of that island &nbsp;could break off and fall into the ocean causing a mega-tsunami that &nbsp;would reach the East Coast of the U.S. and wipe out any island in its &nbsp;path.</p> <p>Last month a 7.2 magnitude earthquake devastated another island, &nbsp;Haiti. Homes and businesses crumbled into dust. This caused a different &nbsp;type of tsunami — one of people desperate to come to the U.S. for a &nbsp;better life. 15,000+ gathered under a bridge in Del Rio, TX, hoping for a &nbsp;chance to get in. (Check out the embedded tweets at the bottom.)</p> <p>Also, last month, a major hurricane hit the Louisiana coast 16 years &nbsp;to the day that Katrina hit and destroyed the area. A different kind of &nbsp;natural disaster, I guess it’s easier to rebuild after a hurricane or &nbsp;flood, than it is after an earthquake. Not much chance after this type &nbsp;of volcano.</p> <p>Yet, a glimmer of hope passed through my Facebook feed. My cousin’s &nbsp;son’s wife had their second baby boy. A new life is born. Too bad, my &nbsp;cousin, his dad, died two weeks ago — 2 weeks from seeing his 6th &nbsp;grandchild.</p> <p>You’re probably thinking, this post is going to be depressing. Not &nbsp;so. It’s realistic. It’s philosophical. That’s the Book of Ecclesiastes. &nbsp;Written by Solomon just before he died (c. 937 BC), the wisest man who &nbsp;ever lived, after much searching, comes to the conclusion that &nbsp;everything under the sun is <em><strong>meaningless</strong></em>. The key phrase here is “under the sun”. In other words, <em><strong>outside of God</strong></em>.</p> <p>I’ve been looking forward to starti