コヘレトの言葉12:1-14 Ecclesiastes 12:1-14,

There are many kinds of books in the Bible. In particular, the Old Testament contains a collection of the laws, which are given by God, the historical books, which are the history of the people of Israel, and the prophetical books, which are the words of the prophets. In addition to the laws, the historical books and the prophetical books, there are various other writings, some of which are somewhat unusual and unique. In the book of Ecclesiastes, we find messages that are not written anywhere else in the Old Testament.

“Ecclesiastes” refers to a person who leads a gathering where God’s teachings are taught. This person seems to have been a man with a lot of money and power. He lived his life by doing his job hard, doing everything he enjoyed, spending money freely, and standing on top of others and wielding power. After doing all those, however, he thought, “Life is meaningless, because no matter what you do, you will eventually die, and there are things in the world that are not right!”

So why did he think that life was meaningless? It is because he tried to live without believing in God. He realised that if he didn’t believe in the God who created this world, and he lived doing whatever he wanted, he would end up meaningless. So, as it says at the beginning of today’s Bible passage, this man said, “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them.’”

How old are “the days of youth”? For the ancients of Old Testament times, “the days of youth” would have been a much younger age than they are now. Probably, “the days of youth” would have been around the age of today’s junior or senior high school students. Nowadays, people’s life expectancy is longer and it is said that we live for 100 years. So you could say that your “days of youth” last until you are about 40 years old. Moreover, some people may think that they are still in their youth at the age of 50 or 60. Youth is a time when you think you can do many things. That is, it is a time when you think that there are many possibilities in your life. However, it is also a time when you do not know what to do or how to live. Therefore, in your youth, you may get lost in your way of life, make mistakes and have setbacks.

But even if you lose your way in life, make mistakes and have setbacks, that is not the end of life. You can think of God, who created human beings and this world. As “Ecclesiastes” says, “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth,” you should know God as your Creator and live our lives believing in him. But even if that is said, there are many people who will say, “I don’t know God” or “I don’t believe in God.” Such people should learn about Jesus, God’s only Son, whom God sent to this world to show what he is like.

When we learn about Jesus, we can see how much God, our Creator, loves us. In other words, we can see that God is the one who forgives our sins and saves us even if we live self-centred lives, get lost, make mistakes and fall short, and leads us so that our lives bear abundant fruit. And if we don’t understand after learning about God the Creator and Jesus, we should pray and ask for the help of the Holy Spirit that God and Jesus send us. The Holy Spirit will guide us so that we can believe in God, give thanks to God, follow God’s teachings and do what is pleasing to God.

It is never too late to believe in God as our Creator; we can believe in him and live a new life even when we are 70 or 80 years old. But it is best if you can live believing in God “in the days of your youth.” Because then your later life will be a life of walking with God and pleasing to him.