To know and love God
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13 KJV)
The book of Ecclesiastes is a wonderful read when I get overwhelmed with the big questions—what does God want from me, how should I react to this or that situation? The author of this book asks questions like mine: What is the meaning of life? If we all end up dying, what’s the point? What things really matter, and which don’t? The style is beautiful, but the overall tone is somewhat pessimistic; for example, the famous phrase “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” is also translated as “Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
But in its last verses, the book strikes a more positive note: “Everything you were taught can be put into a few words: Respect and obey God! This is what life is all about. God will judge everything we do, even what is done in secret, whether good or bad.
How do you “respect and obey God”? I have concluded that part of the reason God didn’t just give us a list of rules to check off is because what He really wants is our hearts, our time, and our efforts to love and get to know Him and pattern our lives around what we know about Him through the life and words of Jesus.
As complicated as the world seems, as hard as making decisions can be, and as much as I want to know how to navigate it all, things get easier and clearer when my deepest desire is to know and love God. [1]
You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You. – St. Augustine of Hippo
[1] Activated The Conclusion
