Melanie and I enjoy watching TV series’ on DVD after they have already aired. This way, you don’t have to watch the commercials and you can watch the shows whenever it is convenient. We recently finished watching Season Two of the show, "Lost." Here's the plotline: a plane crashes on a strange island, and the survivors are confronted by the island with their brokenness, sins, past, and fears. It really is an awesome show if you can get past the bad language and graphic nature of some of the scenes and see the redemptive value…it is true that all creation worships the Triune God whether they realize it or not.
In the second season, the survivors discover a hatch. Inside is a 1980’s era computer system as well as food, clothing, exercise equipment, and infrastructure one would find in a functioning building—basically, it is an almost impossible scenario without explanation of how it came into being. The survivors discover a man named Desmond, who has been “pushing a button” on a computer for several years. He was left with explicit instructions that every 108 minutes, he has to enter the same series of numbers on the computer and then press “execute.” Besides the counter resetting, nothing else actually happens, however, when he presses this button. Nevertheless, he had been told by the man before him and by an orientation video that everyone in the world will die if he doesn’t press this button every 108 minutes. So continuously, for several years, Desmond presses the execute button, thus resetting the 108 minute counter.
When the survivors discover the hatch, Desmond, and the execute button, he tells them the story about the hatch, but then makes his escape, and leaves the main characters to decide whether or not to continue to “push the button.” So they are left with the ridiculous notion that “pushing this button” every 108 minutes not only matters, but will keep the world in existence. Or is it so ridiculous?
Have you ever felt like you are just “pushing a button” through life? Have you ever wondered—I know you have—if this life is all there is? Are family functions, work, responsibilities, the great things of life, the hard things of life, and especially religion and church services simply pushing a button in faith? Does this life mean anything? Go beyond the “pat” answers. For real…does it mean anything?
Solomon, the writer of Ecclesiastes, asked these same questions! I love the book of Ecclesiastes. This Holy Spirit inspired book included in the canon of Scripture, gives us a place to question deeply the very nature of life itself. What is our purpose here? Is there real meaning in this life or the next life?
Perhaps no book in the Old Testament has been criticized as much as the book of Ecclesiastes. Why press the buttons of life since Solomon wrties in chapter one that “everything is vanity?” The reason why this book is so often maligned is because it is greatly misunderstood. Perhaps no book in the OT is as joyful as the book of Ecclesiastes! When the Christian properly understands it, he or she will be overjoyed, empowered, and filled with praise and adoration for our God and His redemptive plan. I know I have been.
The past several Sundays, we have been blessed to hear testimonies from our men on how they came to "press the button" of Christianity. You can check out their video testimonies at:
http://www.grpc.org/sermons/testimonies.asp
I will continue part two of this series tomorrow.
I would love your feedback and interaction at clbetters@grpc.org.
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