The Answer

Back “in the day” I went every few months for a permanent in my hair.  As I explained to my boys one day it was that time, Dennis (Twin  A) asked, “Mama, if you have to get a new one every few months, why do they call it a “permanent?”  Good question – no answer!  The Preacher of Ecclesiastes – King Solomon – reflectively examine the non-permanent things of his life: “’Vanity of vanities,’ says the Preacher. ‘Vanity of vanities! All [that is done without God’s guidance] is vanity [futile, meaningless – a wisp of smoke, vapor that vanishes, merely chasing the wind].’” (Ecclesiastes 1:2, AMP).  When you study the life of King Solomon, son of David and Bathsheba, you see he lacked nothing – he had it all: prestige, power, wealth and all that accompanies those earthly accolades.  Yet, after much of life spent, Solomon delivers the most profound and brutally honest summation: all is vanity. We learn from Scripture that God created us to be in fellowship with Himself, which includes all the benefits of His Love and Power and Care.  Never did He intend we live independently of Him, in [self] sufficiency nor satisfaction apart from The Creator.  God’s words through Solomon may be ancient but they certainly aren’t irrelevant to today. He adds, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done and there is no new thing under the sun.” (1:9).  I wonder [of myself] if I am living within the scope of my own life-design, or am I resting even relishing the life God has put before me.  Even King Solomon cannot answer this question for me or for you.  The answer comes from within each of us!