All Is Vanity - A New Birth Lesson

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun? (Eccl. 1: 2-3 ESV)

Looking back on the time of my being "drawn" by the Father as a young adolescent, I see how my being brought into union with Christ, and my rebirth in his image, first began with an "awakening." I became aware of the vanity of life. What a realization that was! Life seemed hopeless. Going on the assumption that the present life in the flesh was everything, there being no sense of an afterlife, or better life after death, I saw that life itself was vanity. We are born to die. What a realization! And what of human life?

Yes, I saw, as a young man, that there were good things about life, fun and games, pleasures, but I also saw all the evil in the world, all the suffering. Life just did not seem worth living, the pleasures gained by living did not seem to justify all the evils of living. All was "vanity and vexation of spirit" to me. But, then, I was able to understand the Gospel, to know something about God and his plans and purposes, about the causes of death and suffering, etc.

It made sense to me! It gave me joy and a purpose to know that this life was but a time of probation and that a better life, an eternal life, was promised to all who accepted God's grace and sovereignty and put trust in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This I was glad to do. I remember the conviction I was under. I remember praying for forgiveness and promising God repentance. I remember when the Lord and I made a covenant. I asked him to come into my heart. He did. Nothing has ever been the same. Nothing else matters but finishing my service to the Lord Jesus to whom I committed my trust.

Yes, this world is all vanity. But, I look for "the world to come," for the "new Jerusalem," the "heavenly city," for "the new heavens and the new earth," for the eternal kingdom of God and heaven. Then there will no longer be any "vanity and vexation of spirit."