Some people are great at predicting how a movie will end. They catch the foreshadowing, notice the subtle cues and piece together what’s coming. But sometimes, it doesn’t take much skill. Some stories are predictable because we’ve seen how they go.
Ecclesiastes is like that. If you’ve read the book, you know it’s not the Bible’s most joyous read. Every word of praise or achievement seems to come with a heavy dose of realism. You can almost hear it coming.
So, when the Teacher lists all the rewards of his labor, the wisdom he’s gained and the wealth he’s built, we already know where he’s headed. He’s going to call it vanity. No plot twist there. Sure enough, even wisdom, as valuable as it is, turns out to be fleeting. The wise and the foolish meet the same end.
But maybe that’s the point.
The Teacher’s hard-won lessons give us a chance to reflect on our own pursuits. He’s honest about his frustration. At one point he says, “So I hated life.” Still, he never gave up on it. And his honesty helps us ask, Where am I searching for meaning? 
It’s tempting to believe that what we achieve defines us. To think "I am what I accomplish." As a result, when our productivity slows, we feel like we’re no longer “useful,” we wonder if we’ve lost value.
We spend a lifetime building careers, families, legacies. All good things. But then what? If that’s all there is, we’re left with the same conclusion as the Teacher. It’s not enough. Maybe, then, we should be careful finding our life's meaning in what we achieve. Can we take greater joy in who we’re becoming? Who God is creating us to be?
What truly lasts is God. So, I want my identity to rest not in what I do, but in who I am in God. Loved and called. No fleeting reward in life can fill the space only God was meant to occupy.
Stay blessed...john | 
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