This series on Ecclesiastes consistently grapples with the profound question: What is the meaning of life? At its core, the message explores whether the time we spend in this world holds any real significance, prompting deep reflection on human existence and purpose. A visit to a cemetery, where tombstones quietly testify to lives long past, starkly illustrates the brevity of human life. Whether one lives only a few days or more than a hundred years, death stands as the great equalizer. This observation presses a fundamental question upon us: does the length of a person’s life itself give that life meaning?
Ecclesiastes acknowledges that some lives are lived under divine wrath, while others are lived with profound purpose, aimed toward an eternal harvest. Yet regardless of how life is lived, the search for meaning remains central. This universal longing to understand our place and purpose is woven throughout the book. Earlier chapters adopt a markedly pessimistic tone, repeatedly declaring that everything “under the sun” is “vanity of vanities.” When life is viewed only from a secular, earthly perspective, it inevitably leads to despair. Human beings, created with eternity in mind, cannot find lasting meaning in a closed, cyclical world that ends in death.
A decisive shift occurs in Ecclesiastes 3:1 with the introduction of a new perspective: life lived “under heaven.” This change in vantage point moves the reader from a confined, worldly outlook to one shaped by God’s purposes. The idea of “purpose” transforms how we understand life, suffering, joy, and pain. From God’s perspective, nothing is meaningless. This aligns with the New Testament truth that all things work together for the good of those who love God. Everything has a reason, even when that reason is hidden from us.
This way of thinking resonates with the philosophical concept of teleology—the belief that everything has an inherent purpose or end. Just as wings are made for flying and sails for catching the wind, all of creation has a designed function. Ecclesiastes extends this idea beyond objects and nature to history itself, teaching that not only human history as a whole but also each individual life is moving toward an eternally significant goal.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 deepens this truth by declaring that God “has made everything beautiful in its time” and has “set eternity in the human heart.” God sovereignly orders every event—sickness and health, weeping and joy, life and death—according to His eternal wisdom. At the same time, He places within every human being a deep longing for eternity, a desire for lasting joy, meaning, and fulfillment. This longing cannot be erased, even by those who deny God, because it is embedded in the human heart by the Creator Himself.
Yet God also keeps the fullness of His work—from beginning to end—hidden from human understanding. Life remains mysterious, marked by seasons of joy and sorrow, clarity and confusion. Still, God promises that He will make everything beautiful in His time. Therefore, wisdom calls us to live each moment with eternal awareness, recognizing that what we do now carries lasting significance.
Importantly, Ecclesiastes does not promote pessimism or withdrawal from life. Instead, it affirms that there is a time for everything: a time to laugh, to dance, to mourn, and to weep. Jesus Christ perfectly embodied this wisdom, knowing when to show compassion, when to grieve, when to confront sin, and when to pronounce judgment. True wisdom enables us to discern the seasons of life and respond rightly, living meaningfully in light of eternity.
A life lived “under heaven” also necessarily includes accountability. Ecclesiastes makes clear that God does not speak of purpose and eternity without also requiring an accounting of human life. Every action, word, and intention will be brought before God’s perfect judgment. This idea of reckoning is deeply uncomfortable to a self-centered world that seeks freedom without accountability. As thinkers like Nietzsche attempted to remove God in order to escape moral law, Scripture insists that without accountability, life loses its ultimate meaning. Without final judgment, there can be no lasting justice, no true moral order, and no enduring significance—only temporary pleasure and personal preference.
Jesus Himself affirmed this reality, teaching that even careless or idle words will be judged. God’s perfect knowledge records everything: no sin is overlooked, and no good deed is forgotten. For unbelievers, this reality is terrifying. For believers, however, it is transformed by the gospel. Though their sins are recorded, they are covered by the blood of Christ, becoming a testimony to God’s mercy and the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement.
Tragically, much of contemporary Christianity avoids teaching about eternal life and judgment, favoring messages focused on self-esteem, prosperity, or inner peace. This leads to shallow questions such as whether church or obedience truly matters. Such thinking reveals a failure to grasp the eternal weight of the gospel. If we truly understood eternity, our concern would not be comfort but righteousness—being found in Christ and living under His lordship.
Ecclesiastes also confronts the reality of injustice. Wickedness often thrives, and the righteous frequently suffer. From a purely “under the sun” perspective, pursuing justice can seem futile in a corrupt world. But Ecclesiastes does not end there. It affirms that God will bring both the righteous and the wicked into judgment, for there is a time appointed for every deed. This assurance anchors justice not in human systems but in God Himself, who is both Redeemer and Judge.
Ultimately, Christians are called to live every moment in light of eternity, viewing the finite through the lens of the infinite. Though believers share the same world as unbelievers, they interpret and respond to life differently. Living “under heaven” means recognizing that every moment, every choice, and every action now carries eternal weight. In doing so, we fulfill the purpose for which God created us, finding true meaning not in what is temporary, but in what lasts forever.
