分享人生的體驗
傳道書一章1至11 節
1在耶路撒冷作王，大衛的兒子，傳道者的言語。
2傳道者說：“虛空的虛空，虛空的虛空，凡事都是虛空。”
3人一切的勞碌，就是他在日光之下的勞碌，有甚麼益處呢？
4一代過去，一代又來，地卻永遠長存。
5日頭出來，日頭落下，急歸所出之地。
6風往南颳，又向北轉，不住地旋轉，而且返回轉行原道。
7江河都往海裡流，海卻不滿；江河從何處流，仍歸還何處。
8萬事令人厭煩（註：或作“萬物滿有困乏”），人不能說盡。眼看，看不飽；耳聽，聽不足。
9已有的事，後必再有；已行的事，後必再行。日光之下，並無新事。
10豈有一件事人能指著說：“這是新的”？哪知，在我們以前的世代早已有了。
11已過的世代，無人記念；將來的世代，後來的人也不記念。
信息分享
傳道書的作者雖然沒有註明自己的名字，但一般相信是所羅門王。因為只有像所羅門王那樣盡享富貴，擁有高度智慧的人，才能歷盡書中所講的體驗。常聽人說：「經驗是最好的老師。」書中記下作者各種人生體驗，以及他最終得到的結論，當然對我們有很深的啟發，並且再次提醒我們，只有神才能滿足人的心靈。
本書有很多發人深省的句子。一章7節描述海洋的水被太陽蒸發到天空，形成了雲；雲被風吹送到內陸，變成雨水落下，使河流泛溢，再流回海洋。這是一個生生不息的循環。所羅門從哪裡認識這個科學理論的呢？
作者看盡「日光之下」的眾生相，只感到毫無意義和不斷重覆。他質疑世上是否有一件新事。今天有些人會拿著一些新的科技產品，來試圖推翻這句話，他們會說：「這不是新的嗎？」然而，人是否真的創造了任何新的東西？還是神早已在創造世界時包含了這種物質，人類只是到現在才發現出來？
不過，人生並非全無意義。人只要活在基督裡，就可以得著豐盛、完全的人生；而且，不單是只有今生，更能享有永生。請細讀這段經文，發掘當中的含意和對你的啟發，除了為此感謝神外，請嘗試與一位朋友分享，告訴他說：你已在耶穌基督裡，尋獲人生的終極意義。
THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCE
Ecclesiastes 1: 1-11
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher;
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
3 What profit has a man from all his labor
In which he toils under the sun?
4 One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
But the earth abides forever.
5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down,
And hastens to the place where it arose.
6 The wind goes toward the south,
And turns around to the north;
The wind whirls about continually,
And comes again on its circuit.
7 All the rivers run into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full;
To the place from which the rivers come,
There they return again.
8 All things are full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things,
Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come
By those who will come after.
Message
The writer of Ecclesiastes is generally thought to be King Solomon although he never actually says so. But only a man of such wealth and wisdom as Solomon could have gone through all the experiences recorded here. It is often said that “experience is the best teacher”. Certainly the record of all the experiments the writer tried and the conclusions he finally came to can teach us a great deal and remind us that only in God can the human heart be satisfied.
There are many remarkable verses in this book. Chapter 1, verse 7 pictures the way in which water is drawn up from the ocean, brought inland by the wind, then falls as rain, fills the rivers which empty back into the sea. An endless cycle. Who taught Solomon that scientific theory?
The writer looks at all of life “under the sun”. He finds it meaningless and merely a repetition of all that has gone before. He questions if there is anything which is really new. There are those who dispute that statement today with all the new electronic wizardry we have at our disposal and say, “Isn’t that new?” But has man actually invented anything? Or did God include all of this when He first created the world and man is only discovering it now?
But life is not totally meaningless. Life in Christ can be satisfying, enriching, enduring, and complete and will last not only for time but for eternity. Take time today to thank God you have discovered this for yourself and try to share with someone else today that you have found the ultimate purpose of life in Jesus Christ.