ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 TOKONAKI SIULAI 18, 2026

KOHELETI 1-4; FILIPAI 3:1-11

A devastating emptiness of life results when you remove God from your journey on this side of eternity.

Ko e maha ‘ango’ango ‘a e mo’ui, ko e ola ‘o hono tu’usi ‘a e ‘Otua mei ho’o fononga ‘i he kauvai ko eni ‘o ‘itaniti.

No other book of the Bible begins as Ecclesiastes does. We are given no introduction, but are immediately thrown into a discouraging world of endlessly repeating vanity:

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,

vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

What does man gain by all the toil

at which he toils under the sun?

A generation goes, and a generation comes,

but the earth remains forever.

The sun rises, and the sun goes down,

and hastens to the place where it rises.

The wind blows to the south

and goes around to the north;

around and around goes the wind,

and on its circuits the wind returns.

All streams run to the sea,

but the sea is not full;

to the place where the streams flow,

there they flow again.

All things are full of weariness;

a man cannot utter it;

the eye is not satisfied with seeing,

nor the ear filled with hearing.

What has been is what will be,

and what has been done is what will be done,

and there is nothing new under the sun. (Eccl. 1:2-9)

It is as though the Preacher were standing in the middle of the cosmos and screaming. "What is all of this about? There has to be more to my life than this. What in the world am I missing?" In this way, Ecclesiastes is a huge comfort to the thousands of people who have stood in the middle of their lives and asked the same questions. As the Bible so often does in its honesty about the struggles of life on this side of eternity, Ecclesiastes welcomes the reader to be honest with God about the seeming meaninglessness of life.

Though it might seem that these verses are communicating meaningless hopelessness, the Preacher's aim is more profound. To get his deeper point, you have to understand the phrase "under the sun." What does he mean when he says that life is vain "under the sun"? This phrase reinforces the central message not only of Ecclesiastes, but of the entire word of God. It is impossible to find a life of unshakable identity, meaning, purpose, contentment, and joy if you look only horizontally. Nothing in the world God created has the power to give you the satisfaction and joy of heart that every human longs for. Everything in life will fail you. Imperfect people, places, and things can't give you what you long for.

Where is life to be found? Above the sun; that is, in God alone. Knowing him and being known by him give our lives meaning and purpose. Having a relationship with him gives even the most menial tasks purpose and dignity. It is only in, with, and through him that contentment is possible and our hearts are satisfied. By grace we can rise above the vanity. God not only exists, but he has made himself known and taken us as his own. That changes everything.