Ecclesiastes is a Love Story

Depression is enveloping our society. Every hour on tv you can see ads for medications that will fix the depression. While I know that some people respond well to medication and need medication, I also know from personal experience that the medication route can lead to trouble. Our society seems to think that if there is a problem, you should take a pill. If that pill causes a problem, you should take another pill. Then when those pills interact, another is added. We pile chemicals on top of chemicals and are surprised when our bodies do not respond positively.
So we turn to something else, anything else. We turn to alcohol. We turn to education. We turn to the internet. We turn to sex. When we stop tossing about from thing to thing, we can see the answer. The answer is Jesus.
The preacher, Solomon, wrote a book in the Bible-Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes is a love story. Not a very happy love story but in the end it is a joyous love story. Ecclesiastes strikes at the point where depression and joy intersect.
I used to run from this book. I did not want to confront what was being said. The book was nothing but a long list of all the bad stuff I was trying to avoid. What I have found though is that while the book is full of depressing things, we experience those depressing things on a daily basis. The world is a rough place. It is full of darkness. The Bible does not hide from the bad stuff. The Bible helps us to confront our feelings head on.
Yes, there are days when it seems that it would be better to be a still born baby than to have to go through the pain. There are days when all hope seems lost. How many religions are going to come out and tell you that? Wouldn’t it make more sense to say “If you chose our god, you will no longer hurt, no longer have to fight”? Our God doesn’t have to play that game. Our God comes out and says “I know it hurts. I sent my perfect Son to live, die, and be resurrected, so that you who are hurting can know hope. You can know joy. You can know peace.” Our God does not abandon us in the bad places of our minds. He rescues us. He refines us. He turns all depression into joy. He says it’s ok to feel bad. It is ok to hurt. We can cry and know that He will hold us. He will dry our tears. He will comfort us and then He will use us to change the world.
I invite you to read through Ecclesiastes with me. Over the next few weeks, I will be reading a chapter each day and posting about it. Please feel free to leave your comments as you read through too. Ecclesiastes isn’t an easy book to read or understand. I’m relying on many theologians to help with interpretation. I welcome your feedback too.