Ep 478 – Ecclesiastes 11:7-10

There's a popular saying among Christians that states, "Don't be so heavenly minded that you're no earthly good." The basic gist behind what it means is that we can spend so much time thinking about and waiting for heaven, that we end up doing nothing of value and significance in this life. And while that saying has a grain of truth in it, I fear that far too many Christians have taken it to heart and made it their life's mantra. And, as a result, they have become so earthly-minded that heaven has become an afterthought. But the apostle Paul warned the Colossian believers, "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." Being heavenly minded doesn't require that we sit around dreaming about and waiting on eternity. It means that we live our lives with an understanding that this is not all there is. Our reward is waiting for us in the future. And in Ecclesiastes 11:7-10, we're going to see that Solomon, like a lot of other Jews of his day, had a difficult time understanding just what was out there in the future. Eternity was a mystery to them. The Old Testament saints didn't have a well-developed theology of the eternal state, so it left them to focus most of their attention on the here-and-now. But as New Testament believers, we know what tomorrow holds and we also know who holds tomorrow: God. But, once again, the apostle warns us that we live in a day when there are those who are "headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior" (Colossians 3:19-20).