14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
The book of Ecclesiastes was writing by Solomon, King of Israel. He was known as the wisest man of his day. He explores the meaning of life and concludes that everything “under the sun” is meaningless. Under the sun is simply his way of saying “things of this earthly existence” or “things apart from God.” As you read you will hear him discuss these many realms where some people claim to have found fulfillment. Many of these areas are good, but not ultimately satisfying or fulfilling. Compared to the LORD, they have very limited value, and are therefore meaningless as the object of life’s pursuits. Only one thing will bridge the gap between earth and heaven; that is what has meaning. Everything of this earth will not pass over from earth to heaven when we die. It is all destined to be stuck here. Heaven is of a very different kind of ‘stuff.’ The one thing that is going to last is our intimate relationship with the Creator of everything, the LORD. And when we get Him, we get what is infused with meaning. And then everything else in life has meaning because it is viewed in its proper perspective. Often people who have gone through an extreme tragedy gain a different perspective on life. When someone looses their spouse in combat, life changes, and what we value often changes with it. The meaning of the loss refocuses the value system. We spend more time with family than we used to. The same is true for the LORD. Once we really encounter Him, it changes everything. We begin to see that everything else is meaningless because of the great value He is. It really is chasing after the wind.
The Arnold Journey 