That's True

Scripture Reading: Psalm 76; Ecclesiastes 6-9; 2 Corinthians 9

Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins… -Ecclesiastes 7:20 -

That’s true. The Bible affirms it — Paul says in Romans 3, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

But here’s the challenge of Ecclesiastes: the Preacher says true things, yet he doesn’t always know what to do with them. He can name the problem, but he doesn’t have the solution. It’s like holding a map but not being able to read it. You might know where you are, but you don’t know how to get home.

This is why Ecclesiastes can feel bleak. The Preacher sees that life is broken, that no one is righteous, that everything fades — but apart from God’s grace, he can only call it vanity.

And this is where the gospel makes all the difference. Ecclesiastes says, “No one is righteous.” The gospel says, “But God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21). Ecclesiastes says, “Vanity of vanities.” The gospel says, “In the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Cor. 15:58).

So here’s the takeaway: true things only find their full meaning in Christ. Without Him, life under the sun really is meaningless. But with Him, even the smallest act of faithfulness has eternal value.