Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

The text chosen for this morning’s sermon calls us to live happily and to enjoy the days which the LORD gives us in this life. Perhaps some of you may wonder why I have chosen this text, especially now this morning 8 young people may profess their faith and will vow that it is their sincere desire to commit their whole life to the LORD. Had it not been better to choose a text that warns these young people to live holy before the LORD. Yes, is it not somewhat risky to say to these young people as it reads in our text, "Rejoice, . . ., in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes." Is it not dangerous to say this just like this, especially to young people in the church?

No, beloved, it’s not, as long as we also keep in mind how this preacher concludes his book. I now think of what it says in Ch. 12,13, where we read, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments."

To fear God - in our text the preacher wants to make clear that this is not something that puts a damper on life, something that makes life dull leaving no room for any pleasures. On the contrary, also young people whose desire is to commit their whole life to the LORD, may enjoy life to the full. No, like the world around us does. There people think, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." That’s for many people the slogan for life. Make the most of it. After all, you live only once. Yet when faith determines life we may live from the perspective that there is more to life than eating and drinking, more than what we can see only with our physical eye.

People living life to the full in the midst of a sinful world are often left with an empty feeling. It all seems to be in vain. Moreover, in this world broken by sin, at times we are also confronted with disappointments, sorrow, pain and hardship. Yet being a child of the LORD these things should not get us down. For we are Christ’s and this always gives reasons for joy. Well, it is to this true Christian joy that our text draws the attention, when it says in particular to the youngsters in the church, and thus also to these 8 young members here in front of the church, "Rejoice in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, . . . remove vexation from your heart." Indeed, enjoy life; enjoy it as a gift of God!

I minister the Word of God to you under the following heading,

We will see that one can indeed enjoy life when he

1. accepts it as a gift of God
2. appreciates it as gift of God
3. and lives life to the honour of God

When comparing the concluding part of Ecclesiastes with the rest of this book, Br. & Sr., the last chapters of this book seem to be more cheerful. After all, the book called Ecclesiastes is known mostly for its motto, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." True, the Preacher had also come to the conclusion that life receives meaning only from the perspective of faith. I now think in particular of what we read in Ch. 3, 9-11a, "….." And then vss. 12 & 13, "….."

Furthermore in Ch. 5 the Preacher had spoken about ‘the house of God’, which was in his day the temple, ie the place where in the midst of this life broken by sin God was present to redeem life from its vanity by revealing to His people whom He is and what He does. Yes, beloved, this revelation of God is the only secure anchorage in a world full of questions. It is because of this revelation that we as God’s children not only may but are also able to really enjoy life.

Well, that’s how the Preacher comes to the concluding part of his book, where he calls God’s children to indeed enjoy life, to enjoy it as a gift of God. I now think, for example, of what we read in Ch. 11, 1-4, "….." In more concrete terms these words mean: simply do your work, and leave the outcome of your work to Him who has all things in His almighty hands. Don’t give too much attention to the winds and the clouds, ie don’t try to work out everything yourself. For in doing so it might also happen that you let the time slip by. Therefore simply do your task, not groaningly or sour-faced, but happily enjoying the good things which God gives you. After all, as the preacher says in vs. 7, "Truly the light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun."

The question can be raised: how is it possible that the Preacher who time and again came to the conclusion that all is vanity > how can this man all of sudden speak so positively? Does he in the concluding part of his book all of a sudden change from a bitter pessimism to a light-hearted optimism? No, that’s not what it is. But this thorough appreciation of life stems from a sure knowledge that God as the Almighty One holds the future in His hands. For the Preacher, who lived in the OT era, this future was a messianic future. Well, it is because of this messianic future that life is still worthwhile to live and can be enjoyed as well. Therefore, vs. 8, "If a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. Yet let him also remember the days of darkness for they will be many."

With these words the Preacher addresses in particular the youth of the church. He knows you are young only once and you can also spend your strength only once. Therefore don’t waste your life, but spend it in the service of God. Go to work faithfully and God will surely bless it. Yes, use your time well. For there is also the threatening darkness of death opposing the light of life. One day death will make an end to everything.

Thinking about death life may seem to be meaningless. Yes, looking at what is coming where does one ultimately live for? Moreover if indeed death makes an end to everything why should one bother to serve God in his life? Isn’t then all what you do in His service wasted effort? On top of it, how much criticism isn’t there often in the church. Are you not better off to enjoy life a bit more elsewhere? Why should one plague himself with all those commandments which say that you are not allowed to do this, and you had better to do that?

Well, in our text the Preacher says: simply do your work in God’s service and no doubt God will bless it. After all, He has promised to do so. He will not cause our life to get bogged in mud. On the contrary we may set our hope on the gospel which He has proclaimed. The gospel which speaks about the defeat of the seed of the serpent. God’s Son shall come to conquer Satan and that will be the end of the realm of darkness. He shall establish a kingdom of perfect joy and peace. The zeal of the LORD of host will perform this. Yes, all this will come about against all human expectations, but not against the expectations of those who know their life linked with this glorious future. A glorious future also for the youth of the church. Life does not run along the line of birth, life and then death. There is more to it. And this more makes at times a child of God sigh: if it was only that far already.

No, in saying this I do not mean that our life in this world should be determined by a sickly desire for heaven. This would be wrong. For God still gives us a place in this world. But because of the future we are awaiting our life receives a totally different perspective, which makes it also more enjoyable. For the one who doesn’t know about this future could indeed ask himself the question: where do I live for if in the end death cuts off everything. Then one indeed tries to make the most of life by hanging on to the fleeting and empty pleasures which this world has to offer us. Then indeed you try to get the most out of it. For you live only once, and life is short. Soon the darkness will come.

Yet those who live by faith still have a secure anchorage even when the darkness sets in. For in faith I knew already that here on earth we don’t have a lasting city, instead we await the city which has foundation, whose builder and maker is God. It is because of this glorious future, beloved, that we as God’s children are able really to enjoy life. True, this calls for wisdom, scriptural wisdom. Yet God will give this wisdom when in prayer we ask Him for it.

See, young people, that’s how you may take up your task in this life. Your task in the congregation of Christ, but also in the midst of this world. Then what you profess this morning does not become an isolated matter in your life. But then it will show up, also tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, that your life stands in this rich perspective.

True, then there are many around you who consider it foolishness to serve the LORD. Even many who still call themselves Christians but who have conformed their life to the world, since they don’t want to be the odd one out among their unbelieving mates. Yet the Preacher says: it is proof of true wisdom when in this life you serve the LORD. For God will surely bless those who serve Him uprightly.

Young people, buy then your time. Work as long as it is light, which means use the energy which God gives you in your youth. For the strength of your youth might be gone sooner than you expect it. Therefore, enjoy the time God gives you at present, enjoy it as a gift of Him. And then there is indeed a lot to enjoy, as we will see in the second point of the sermon.

II The Preacher, living in the OT era was looking forward to Christ’s first coming. He knew of the promises about a Redeemer who would establish a kingdom of righteousness and peace. It was because of these sure promises that he dared to encourage especially the youth in the church to enjoy life. For living and working in the expectation of the coming of Christ gives joy to life, also today.

You are young, but you are young only for a short time. Therefore enjoy it to the full, so the Preacher says in our text. Yes, "let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes." These last words could also be translated more directly as, "follow the impulses of your heart and as you see to be best."

Br. & Sr., that is quite something, isn’t it? One may even wonder: is this really what the LORD says to the young people in the church? Indeed it is! Yes, then we may find it difficult to say this to our young people, to say this also to these young members making profession of faith this morning. Yes, is this really the message they have to take home and to work with? Is it not dangerous to encourage them to enjoy life, knowing that their heart longs for joy and pleasure? And yet the Preacher, who as all the authors of the Bible was also inspired by the Holy Spirit > the Preacher says it to the youth of the church very clearly: dare to be happy, dare to be young and to enjoy life.

Indeed, young people, you are allowed to do so. For the LORD doesn’t want you, because you are a child of His, to find life boring or dull. He gives you a place in the church, but also in the midst of His wonderful creation and says to you: enjoy it, especially when you are young. Enjoy it as boy or as girl, but also together, eg when love starts dawning. This too is a gift of God you are allowed to enjoy.

Yet so the Preacher continues in the concluding part of vs. 9, "….." No, then he doesn’t add these word to make us scared. After all, as God’s children we don’t have to fear the judgment of God. For we live with God in a covenant relation, a relation we should appreciate, also when we are young. In more concrete terms this means because we appreciate this relation, we also want to live a life pleasing to the LORD in holy conduct.

No, then this should not take away anything from the joy of which I spoke earlier on. For when the Preacher says in our text, "Enjoy life, when you are young!" > he does not mean unlimited, no matter what it is. For also when we are young, we still have the calling to live to the honour of the LORD. No, then the latter is not in conflict with the former. The point is, do we know what constitutes true happiness?

True, also in the church one can become disappointed, disappointed in fellow church members. Yet this never should get us down so much that the joy of faith no longer prevails and as a result of it we start looking for enjoyment in life elsewhere, in contacts outside the church. Beloved, never put at risk what you receive here in the church. For it is here where the fountains of salvation spring and the LORD teaches you what constitutes true joy. Therefore when at times you get depressed, look away from people in whom you perhaps have become disappointed. Instead look on high to Him who is your faithful covenant God, and who wants to see you as a happy child of His, a child that enjoys life.

What is this joy, what does constitute it? For a start, when Scripture speaks about ‘being happy’ it is never an empty notion, it never refers to the cheap happiness in which the unbelieving world takes pleasure. No, when Scripture speaks about happiness it always means ‘happiness in faith’ Well, that’s what we should also keep in mind when in our text the Preacher calls in particular the young people in the church to enjoy life and to live happily. Then he does not mean: enjoy life > full stop! But he calls the young people to enjoy life as a gift of God, in the same way as the apostle Paul does in his first letter to Timothy, 4,4 saying, "Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer."

See, young people, that’s how you may enjoy life. But this then also means, eg having been an evening out, having enjoyed some entertainment, that at the end of such an evening you must able to thank God for that entertainment. And of course, this not only applies to the youth of the church, but to all of us, young and old.

We may enjoy life, enjoy the good things which God has given us in this life. But we can only really enjoy it, when we can also thank God for it. No, don’t think now that coming towards the end of the sermon I take back what I have said in the beginning about enjoying life. If you have that feeling then it might well be that the enjoyment which you seek is not pleasing the LORD, and perhaps you have to repent from enjoying life in a sinful way.

Summarising, Br. & Sr., being a child of the LORD never means that we can enjoy life less, not even when we are young. It is just the other way around: God will deepen our joy, so that life becomes more happy for us. Yes, then also as children of God we may enjoy life to the full.

But what then about God’s judgment, so one may ask. The answer is, beloved, that when we enjoy life in faith we don’t have to far this judgment. Since our Judge is our Redeemer, who bore the wrath of God in our place; who bore the wrath of God, also for you young people. And this is exactly the reason why we are able to live joyfully, always.

Sometimes, especially young people in the church, think that in the world > yes, there one can enjoy life. Yet let me assure you in the light of God’s Word, that when you think this way, you are deceiving yourself. More specifically, it is Satan who tries to make you believe this. The world around us indulges itself in pleasures which do not last. Scripture calls them fleeting, empty. Well, in Christ we have been redeemed from this emptiness. It is here that I would like to refer to a portion of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, where Paul says about the Gentiles, 4,17ff, "….." But then he continues in vs. 20, "But you have not so learned Christ." This means in Christ our life has been redeemed from all these empty, vain pleasures.

Whoever has seen the riches of this will no longer say -as parents so often hear out of the mouth of their children, "Why am I not allowed to do this, and why must I do that?" But then we thank God that we may live a life much richer than the people in the world. Yes, then thankful for the riches we have received in Christ it becomes our heartfelt joy to live according to the will of God in all good works. Not as a burden, but indeed as a matter of tremendous joy.

III We saw, Br. & Sr., that when the Preacher encourages in particular the youth of the church to enjoy life, he does not encourage them to do so unlimitedly. After all, in all that we do we must keep in mind the aim for which God has created us. As the Preacher says in Ch. 12, 1, enjoying your youth remember your Creator. This remembering, Br. & Sr., involves much more than only allowing also God a place in our life. No, it means that we want to live our whole life to the honour of Him who created this world and has given us a place in the midst of His wonderful creation. God who created us in His image in order that we may reflect this image of God in whatever we do.

See, beloved, that’s how we ought to remember our Creator, who in and through Jesus Christ also re-created our life, with as result that our life is no longer subject to futility. Yes, whoever sees his life in this rich perspective will also learn to understand the meaning of life for today. Then we no longer live simply for ourselves, but then it becomes our genuine desire to commit our whole life to the LORD, as it also reads in the Form for the Public Profession of faith.

Once again, this doesn’t take anything away from the enjoyment of which I spoke earlier on in the sermon. On the contrary, this is how life receives real meaning and value. Life - of which the Preacher in the beginning of his book has said that without God it is all in vain. Yet in and through Jesus Christ our Saviour our life may bear imperishable fruits. Yes, then even when the days draw near of which we would say, "I have no pleasure in them," as the preacher refers to in the continuation of Ch. 12, speaking about the frailty of life in old age, when the body looses lustre and strength > even then as children of God we still may view the future cheerfully, knowing that one day this imperishable nature will put on the imperishable, and what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.

It is because of the fact that the Preacher knows that life is frail that he encourages in particular the young people in the church to make the most of their youth, to make the most of it in the service of the LORD. Yes, young people, use your strength and energy to contribute to church life. Don’t put this off by saying I still have time to do so later, first I also like to have a bit of enjoyment for myself. Remember your Creator and think of the fact why He gave also you a place in the midst His creation. Not simply so that you could enjoy yourself, but that you may live to honour Him in all you do. Remember you are His child, a covenant child.

Remember how rich God has made you in Jesus Christ, the Saviour also of your life. When you realise all this, you will no longer waste the days of your youth with all kind of sinful entertainment, but then you will fight these sinful desires, asking God to help you to live according to His will and this with joy and delight.

See there how the Preacher calls us live joyfully to the honour of Him who created us. And of course then this call is directed not only to the young people in the church, but to all of us, young and old. All of us are called in the place where the LORD has set us to devote our life to His service, and to do so joyfully.

As parents we have the task to give our children an example of this joy, showing them that it is a feast that we may serve the LORD. Beloved, when with us as parents the fire of love for the LORD and His service is no longer burning, perhaps it still smoulders a bit, but it no longer radiates any warmth never think, beloved, when this is the case that you are able to make your children enthusiastic for the service of the LORD. Therefore speak with your children about these things. Take time for it when they bombard you with all kind of questions. Never wave them aside, but around an open Bible try to find answers, to learn the way in which God wants us to walk, us and our children. We must try to raise our children in such a way that they will never look upon the service of the LORD as something boring or burdensome, but instead may see the riches of being a covenant child; the riches of having a Father in heaven who knows us in all things; who knows us in our sorrow and difficulties, but also in that hard battle against sin.

See there, beloved, how we as children of God may indeed enjoy life to the full. No, not in a worldly way, but to the honour of Him who created us. After all, all what the world offers for pleasure is fleeting, vain and empty. Therefore let us not set our heart on that. But let us, young and old, consider the real riches in life and also enjoy these riches. If you do so, beloved, then God says to you this morning: you will be blessed. Then you can indeed live joyfully all the days of your life

Amen.

Last modified: December 01, 2002