分享人生的体验
传道书一章1至11 节
1在耶路撒冷作王，大卫的儿子，传道者的言语。
2传道者说：“虚空的虚空，虚空的虚空，凡事都是虚空。”
3人一切的劳碌，就是他在日光之下的劳碌，有甚么益处呢？
4一代过去，一代又来，地却永远长存。
5日头出来，日头落下，急归所出之地。
6风往南刮，又向北转，不住地旋转，而且返回转行原道。
7江河都往海里流，海却不满；江河从何处流，仍归还何处。
8万事令人厌烦（注：或作“万物满有困乏”），人不能说尽。眼看，看不饱；耳听，听不足。
9已有的事，后必再有；已行的事，后必再行。日光之下，并无新事。
10岂有一件事人能指着说：“这是新的”？哪知，在我们以前的世代早已有了。
11已过的世代，无人记念；将来的世代，后来的人也不记念。
信息分享
传道书的作者虽然没有注明自己的名字，但一般相信是所罗门王。因为只有像所罗门王那样尽享富贵，拥有高度智慧的人，才能历尽书中所讲的体验。常听人说：「经验是最好的老师。」书中记下作者各种人生体验，以及他最终得到的结论，当然对我们有很深的启发，并且再次提醒我们，只有神才能满足人的心灵。
本书有很多发人深省的句子。一章7节描述海洋的水被太阳蒸发到天空，形成了云；云被风吹送到内陆，变成雨水落下，使河流泛溢，再流回海洋。这是一个生生不息的循环。所罗门从哪里认识这个科学理论的呢？
作者看尽「日光之下」的众生相，只感到毫无意义和不断重复。他质疑世上是否有一件新事。今天有些人会拿着一些新的科技产品，来试图推翻这句话，他们会说：「这不是新的吗？」然而，人是否真的创造了任何新的东西？还是神早已在创造世界时包含了这种物质，人类只是到现在才发现出来？
不过，人生并非全无意义。人只要活在基督里，就可以得着丰盛、完全的人生；而且，不单是只有今生，更能享有永生。请细读这段经文，发掘当中的含意和对你的启发，除了为此感谢神外，请尝试与一位朋友分享，告诉他说：你已在耶稣基督里，寻获人生的终极意义。
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.