4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. 5 The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh. 6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind. 7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.

(Ecclesiastes 4:4-8)

The Preacher of Ecclesiastes samples a variety of human pursuits to find out the meaning of life under the sun. He concludes by affirming his opening pronouncement that “all is vanity.” (12:8; 1:2) The word “vanity” appears thirty-eight times in the book and literally means “vapor.” It describes that which is fleeting, ephemeral and elusive, with different nuances depending on the context. When applied to work, it indicates that the topsy-turvy nature of this life and its inevitable end mean that we cannot depend on our career to provide us with any enduring meaning or value.

In 2:18-23, the Preacher laments that death spoils all the wealth and achievements accumulated by a life of labor. Even if chance or misfortune do not rob us of our wealth, death surely will (1 Tim. 6:7). When death does come and the estate must be divided and shared, the heirs might foolishly squander everything their parents worked so hard for. The Preacher returns to the theme of work in the passage above (4:4-8) and surveys four attitudes toward work.

The competitive workaholic (4) — Although there are exceptions to this statement (some work honestly, some love their craft, some work simply to survive), much of our hard work is motivated by “envy,” a jealous spirit of competition, the unhealthy craving to outshine others. Those who find their identity in their career and work out of envy are doomed to an empty, frustrating existence of “striving after the wind” (cf. Col. 3:24).

The impoverished sluggard (5) — Here is the opposite extreme. The “fool” despises frantic work-rivalries and simply “folds his hands,” that is, he quits working altogether (Prov. 6:10; 24:33). His error is just as destructive. His complacency and idleness eat away not only what he has but what he is (“eats his own flesh”), eroding his self-control, his grasp on reality, his capacity to care and provide and, in the end, his self-respect.

The self-centered miser (7-8) — Another common motivation for work is the accumulation of wealth (Lk. 12:15ff). Such people are “never satisfied with riches” (cf. 5:10). Collecting possessions can become an obsession that prevents logical thinking: though he has no family, he never thinks to ask why he is working so hard. The life devoted only to acquiring more for oneself is an empty and “unhappy business.” Although the example given here is someone without a family, the same is true of someone with a family. By pursuing wealth he creates his own loneliness by having no time to spend with his loved ones. He may even convince himself he is doing it all for them but he is only masking his private devotion to the idol of wealth (Mt. 6:24).

The balanced worker (6) — Only when we are properly oriented toward God (12:13-14) can we can find contentment in our work (2:23-24; Phil. 4:10ff). “A handful of quietness” conveys a two-fold thought of modest demands and inward peace. This is not the fool’s selfish laziness nor the workaholic’s rat-race mentality nor the miser’s greedy materialism. This is the attitude that recognizes “one handful” (having one’s needs met through a modest income) is “better” than “two hands full of toil and a striving after the wind.” (See also Prov. 30:7-9; 1 Tim. 6:6-10) May God be glorified through our balanced attitude toward work. May we learn to be content and grateful for, as well as generous with, what God has given us.

Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Galatians 1:1-5

We tend to think of the opening greetings of the epistles as routine formulas. We usually skip over them to get to the body of letter (and we certainly don’t preach on them!). While these opening greetings may seem routine to us, there is a depth to them that often goes overlooked. Paul usually foreshadows his discussion in the opening verses. Consider his greeting to the Galatians.

He’s a little edgy in introducing himself. In the very first verse, he defends his apostleship because some considered him a sub-apostle and disregarded his authority. He also subtly counters the ‘Jesus-plus’ heresy the Galatians had been swallowing. This was the idea that we need more than the gospel to be right with God (i.e. the Law of Moses). There is something conspicuously absent here as well that we see in every other opening of Paul’s letters: his  customary prayer of thanksgiving. The Galatians need a kick in pants not a commendation, so he launches right into the problem.

In his greeting, Paul sets these blessings before them so that they recognize what they are forfeiting by walking away from the simple gospel. We can look at Paul’s greeting positively to show us what we have in Christ and to motivate us never to wander from him but rather to seek him more deeply.

First, the bounty of the gospel (3) in the blessings God gives. Notice the source of “grace” and “peace” are God the Father and God the Son. Have you ever noticed that grace always precedes peace? This is because one is a result of the other. We can only enjoy peace after we’ve reconciled to God through Christ (by grace). These blessings are continually available to us because are in constant need of them to sustain us through weariness.

Second, the wonder of the gospel (4a) in the love God shows. At the mention of “the Lord Jesus Christ” and his being “raised… from the dead” we are reminded of his perfect love which he expressed when he “gave himself for our sins.” Who could discount such love shown at such price toward such people?

Third, the liberty of the gospel (4b) in the freedom God wins. Jesus gave himself not just as an expression of love but as an act of power to “deliver us from the present evil age.” We were all in the grip of spiritual bondage, powerless to escape. But when Jesus was “delivered,” we received emancipation to live as we ought. Did you know that the word “delivered” is the same word translated “betrayed” in 1 Corinthians 11:23? Who betrayed Jesus? Judas, for money; Pilate for fear; the Jews for envy—but the Father for love!

Finally, the plan of the gospel (4c) and the will God executes. God’s love and power exhibited in the gospel were “according to the will of our God and Father.” That is, it was always God’s plan to rescue his people in this way. When Jesus was “delivered” on the cross, it seemed to be a divine blunder. Israel’s Messiah rejected by the ones he came to save? God must have miscalculated! But Paul affirms the cross was always the plan. In other places, he and other New Testament authors carefully show how Jesus was “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). The resurrection (mentioned in v.1) is, of course, what explains the cross. By raising Jesus from the dead, God vindicated his plan, his name and his Messiah, as well as giving hope to those who believe. To him “be glory forever and ever. Amen!”

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

John 3:5

Today, especially in America after the evangelistic crusades of Billy Graham, it is common to think of “born-again Christians” as different than other Christians. Born-again Christians, it is thought, come from a more broken or wayward background. They have a checkered moral past. They are those who have hit rock bottom and have “seen the light” or have survived some traumatic experience and “got saved.” While these kinds of dramatic spiritual turn-arounds can and do happen, we may be left thinking that being “born again” is only for certain people. But the way Jesus uses this phrase in John 3:1-15 will not allow such a narrow interpretation.

Who must be born again? (1-3) Everyone! Consider who Jesus was speaking to. Nicodemus was no immoral, downtrodden social outcast. He was a well-to-do, morally upright, highly educated teacher of the Law and influential member of society. He belonged to the strictest sect of his religion (Pharisees) and even held a seat on their ruling council (Sanhedrin). Yet, for all his achievements, Jesus said he had to be “born again” before seeing, let alone entering, the kingdom of heaven. Just because someone’s life looks in order on the outside doesn’t mean they are right with God.

No one’s achievements can save them from spiritual death; no amount of earthly power or prestige can gain a person access into God’s kingdom. Access comes only through the new birth.

How is one born again? (4-8) The word “again” is purposefully ambiguous. It means both “a second time” (as Nicodemus interpreted it) and “from above.” Jesus probably meant both. It is a re-birth but a rebirth “of water and the Spirit.” In the Old Testament, God promised to pour out his Spirit like water into the hearts of people to renew their inner life (Isa. 32:15; 44:3; Ezek. 36:25-27; 39:29; Joel 2:28-29). It is in water baptism that we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the washing away of our sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16). Thus this double-sided rebirth (“of water and the Spirit”) is the entry point of God’s kingdom. And just as the effects of the wind are evident, even though the wind itself is invisible, so the effects of God’s Spirit will be evident in the lives of all those who are born again (8).

Where is one born again? (9-15) Though Jesus rebukes Nicodemus’ confusion (after all, he was supposed to be a teacher, 9), the issue was not intellectual. His failure to believe (“receive our testimony”) was much worse than his failure to “understand.” Jesus reminded Nicodemus of the story when God sent a plague of poisonous snakes as punishment for Israel’s rebellion in the wilderness (Num. 21). Moses was instructed to make a bronze serpent and attach it to a pole. Whenever an Israelite looked at the serpent he was healed. Therefore, the serpent was God’s means of physical healing. Jesus drew a parallel to himself: the “Son of Man” will also be “lifted up” with a similar outcome. Humanity as a whole has been smitten with the deadly disease of sin. The only remedy is to look upon the “Son of Man” when he is “lifted up” on the cross for all to see. The evil serpent that infected us with sin injected his death-dealing venom into Jesus on the cross. But he carried that poison into death to provide us with life! Therefore, to be “born again,” to “enter” God’s kingdom and receive “eternal life,” we must come to the cross and embrace our Savior by faith.

Some are baptized only to emerge from the water as themselves; the Spirit is absent. Even dead people have birth certificates. It’s being alive that counts, the evidence of the new birth. Being born again requires the Spirit. On the other hand, some think baptism isn’t necessary and that they can be born again without it; the water is absent. Jesus speaks the truth when he says “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11

Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most quoted and claimed promises in the Bible. We find it printed on pretty calendars, on coffee mugs, and even on interior walls of some homes. It’s easy to see why this precious word of assurance from God captivates believers. But do those who quote it understand its context? This is a surprising word of hope given to a nation under God’s judgment.

In Jeremiah’s day, Israel was suffering exile in Babylon as a just punishment for their flagrant rebellion against God. Jeremiah, who lived in Jerusalem, sent a letter to the exiles telling them to settle into their new lives in Babylon: “seek the welfare of the city… and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jer. 29:4-7). After warning them of the dangers of false prophets (Jer. 29:8-9), Jeremiah wrote that after seventy years God would rescue them from captivity and bring them back home to Jerusalem (Jer. 29:10). Then comes the word of assurance in verse 11. Despite the exiles’ present suffering, God’s ultimate purpose for them was for good (“welfare” = shalom) not evil.

Note that the “you” in verse 11 is plural (“you all”) not singular. In this text, God is not promising an individual plan for each person but rather a plan for his people as a whole. We see that plan worked out through history when Israel, far from dying out in obscurity in Babylon, returned to their homeland exactly as God promised.

Israel’s “future and hope” was bound up with God’s promise to bless all other nations through them (Gen. 12:3); their survival was crucial to God's ‘big picture.’ The proper response to such grace was not gleeful celebration or mere relief—“Everything is going to turn out okay, so let’s party!”—but heartfelt repentance and renewed devotion to God. When Israel would turn to God with all their heart they would find him and be restored (Jer. 29:12-14; cf. Deut. 4:29-31). At the end of those seventy years, Daniel, living in captivity, did exactly what Jeremiah said and led his people to earnestly seek God and his restorative grace (Dan. 9:1-19).

Understanding the context of this glorious promise helps us apply it properly to our lives. God’s plans for exiled Israel have been fulfilled. They paid the penalty for breaking the covenant with their exile and God comforted and restored them (see Ezra; Neh.). Now, under the New Covenant established by Jesus through which we enjoy the forgiveness of sins—another promise from the book of Jeremiah (ch. 31)—God wants us to know that he has plans for us as well, “plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Christians are also “exiles” of a sort (1 Pet. 1:1-2). Because this present world is not our true home, we live in constant tension within it. Though we are rejected by the world, we know that we are “chosen and precious” in the eyes of God (1 Pet. 2:4, 9-10). We have been called out of this world (Jn. 15:19) to live for the world to come (2 Pet. 3:10-13). Like the faithful pilgrims of old, we “desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (Heb. 11:16), “the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10). By faith, we await the “New Jerusalem” where we will live together with God — and without sin, pain or death (Rev. 21:1-5).

Like ancient Israel, we know that the period of our current state of exile will end because God has promised to bring us to himself: “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Phil. 3:20-21). Like Israel, we are not to squander our time in exile with inactivity, detachment or despair. We are to seek the Lord and the welfare of our neighbors by praying on their behalf (Jer. 29:7). In Christ, God has given us “a future and a hope.” We express that hope by loving him and loving others.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth… And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

Genesis 1:1, 31

Amber is the fossilized resin of conifer trees. Sap runs from the tree trapping insects and plants then hardens over time, preserving whatever is inside, a process popularized by Steven Spielberg’s landmark 1993 film Jurassic Park. Sometimes tiny pockets of air also get trapped in the amber. When the gases within these microscopic air bubbles are analyzed, scientists find that the Earth’s atmosphere was quite different when the air bubbles were originally trapped. In fact, the atmosphere contained about 35% oxygen compared with our 21% today. This oxygen-rich atmosphere means that the simple act of breathing in the ancient world have would been exciting! Studies indicate that increased oxygen and higher air pressure (like that reproduced in a hyperbaric chamber) can reduce infection, heal certain diseases, decrease stress and even enhance stamina.

There is also evidence to suggest that the Earth was much warmer long ago and, if the air was rich with oxygen, the atmosphere would have been much more dense. All this would make it possible for large creatures to fly, such as pterosaurs like the Quetzalcoatlus which had a 50 foot wingspan and weighed over 500 pounds.

The late Dr. Kei Mori of Keio University in Tokyo experimented raising plants in nutrient-rich soil under special light using a mirror system which sent light through fiberoptic cables that filtered out infrared and ultraviolet radiation. This means the light the plants received was pure sunlight. His tomato plant grew 16 feet tall and produced over 900 tomatoes! The plant was then moved to a larger area with scaffolding to support it. The plant grew to over 30 feet tall, covered an area of over 900 ft² and yielded over 13,000 tomatoes over six months, a Guinness world record. They were a kind of cherry tomato but Mori’s were the size of baseballs. Could this environment of filtered sunlight, enhanced carbon dioxide, and nutrient-rich soil mirror the conditions of the early Earth? If so, why is our world so different and what accounts for the change?

There are many possible naturalistic explanations for these changes which science continues to answer. But we can also offer a theological reason which accounts for them: in a word, sin. When God created the world, it was “very good.” Humans were made to live forever in fellowship with God and in proximity to the “tree of life.” But the introduction of sin into creation caused death and decay to “reign” until the coming of Christ (Gen. 3:15; Rom. 5:12ff). Not only were humans exiled from Eden and the tree of life, creation itself suffered as a result of human sin (Gen. 3:17-19). Paul says it was “subjected to futility in hope” and is now “in bondage to corruption… groaning” in pain until it is set free (Rom. 8:19-22).

Sin brought suffering, disease and death into creation. Even after sin entered the world, humans lived much longer lives in comparison to today (see Gen. 5). Perhaps the reason for this longevity and robust health was due to factors such as lower radiation levels, increased air pressure, richer carbon dioxide, more nutrient-rich soil and a generally cleaner world. Noah’s flood would also have vastly changed the biosphere, making it difficult for many species to adapt to the new postdiluvian environment. But the further we got from the beginning, the more the effects of sin compounded until the human lifespan decreased, eventually leveling off to about “seventy, or if by reason of strength eighty” years, as Moses wrote (Psa. 90:10).

I realize some of this is speculative but the gospel is certain: Jesus came to grant us access to the tree of life. His death redeems us from the curse of sin and his resurrection secures our hope of eternal life. In him, we look forward to an even better world to come (Heb. 11:16; 2 Pet. 3:13), a perfect world in which there is no sin and we can live with God forever in perfect bodies (1 Cor. 15:42ff).