Chasing Bubbles

I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind. For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 ESV). A dog and bubbles make a very amusing combination. I have seen the hilarious dance created when a bottle of bubbles and a dog are put together. You may have seen the same thing. The bubbles are blown and as they drift on the breeze, the dog will run after them only to be disappointed when they burst before their eyes. They never seem to tire of chasing them though. How like many people this scene is as they chase after happiness in all the wrong things. Our reading today comes from a man who chased plenty of them. King Solomon, the ancient Jewish King, said this, "I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind." We might say the bubbles. Solomon probably lived life with more gusto than anybody you ever knew did. He was the richest man of his time. He built an incredible temple with his name on it. Roads and buildings everywhere that he was responsible for. He had the best of entertainment. He had more women than you could possibly imagine, and he studied the greatest ideas of his time, and repeatedly he would say in this book, "It was all chasing after the wind". Chasing bubbles, maybe you know the feeling. You see something or someone that looks promising as a goal and it would give you personal happiness or personal fulfillment, right? And you pounce on it with everything you got, and, puff, its gone. It leaves you sniffing and wondering why you're still empty looking for the next bubble to come along. How long is it going to be before we realize that what we really want isn't any of life's bubbles, any of the things that earth has to offer? In Ecclesiastes 3:11, Solomon reached the conclusion. He said, "God has placed eternity in our hearts". There is an eternal hole in our heart. It's so big only someone as eternal as God can fill it. We've been trying to get earth stuff and earth people to fill a God hole in our heart. We're hungry for something eternal. Right now you might be aggressively pursuing a position or a possession or a person with everything you've got. But when you get it, you will discover what you always discover -- it's a bubble that bursts. That is why Solomon concludes after his life search in Ecclesiastes 12:1, "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth". There's only one pursuit worth everything you got - a personal relationship with your Creator. Life lived for what matters to Him. The Bible says, speaking of Jesus Christ, "He is our peace". How soon are you going to give up chasing the wind? The bubbles? Looking for love and peace in life in things that disappear as soon as you got them? Trust in Jesus today!