Dear Friends,

READ ECCLESIASTES 1:1 THROUGH 4:16

A main attraction at a city’s cemetery is a grave marker that looks like a marble cross leaning to one side. The dead man’s name is etched in the middle with his academic accomplishments and a few scientific formulas inscribed in random places around the cross. Obviously, he was a man of great knowledge.

Visitors to the cemetery are drawn to the bizarre-looking monument. But people who read every word etched on its shiny surface walk away sad. Why? At the bottom of the marker—where its base meets the dirt—a small inscription reads, “And he died alone.”

For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief (Ecclesiastes 1:18).

The author of Ecclesiastes understood the grave marker well. Even though God had granted Solomon great wisdom and vast wealth, his words reveal that he’d found emptiness in worldly pursuits.

Those who seek only academic knowledge, fleshly pleasures, and other worldly interests will spend their lives in lonely frustration. Fulfillment can only be found by seeking and serving God.

Thought for Today: What would you like to have written on your grave marker?