Light years and dark days 

This is taken from a study by my pastor and friend, David Niednagel.   

From the book of Ecclesiastes 11:7-10  (NLT Version) 

Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning. When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember there will be many dark days. Everything still to come is meaningless.  Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. But remember that youth, with a whole life before you, is meaningless.    

Light is sweet. So is life. Whether young or old, enjoy every day of it. But remember that it is “hebel” – meaningless = fleeting, without substance. Nothing of it will last forever physically. In :10  “a whole life before you” is literally the word for “black hair”. He is saying if we do live a long time, our hair will get grey/white. We are going to look old, feel old, and not be able to do what we did when we were young. So enjoy it while you can. ”Refuse to worry”(10)  means deal with the emotional psychological part of growing older. Accept it. Losses will come. But he also says “keep your body healthy”. Don’t give up before you have to. Keep active as long as you can.  

However, Solomon believed God was real, and even though our bodies will pass away, there is eternal and spiritual significance to everything about life, even if we can’t see it or figure it out. We “must give an account to God for everything we do” – for our words, deeds, and attitudes.