Chasing the Wind
I mentioned in the last post that I am fascinated by World War II. I've had the privilege twice of visiting the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, Israel, and while we were in Washington, DC recently, we visited the National Holocaust Museum. Both are different experiences, but both are profoundly moving. It's nearly impossible for us to imagine the living conditions, the way the people were treated, or the how one human being could treat another like they did. I come away from such experiences sad and humbled on many levels.
And I always remember a book I read many, many years ago. Victor Frankl was a Holocaust survivor, and his book is called Man's Search for Meaning. Frankl's assertion is this: one thing that made a huge difference between those who survived and those who perished was whether or not they could answer the question, "Why?" If we have a reason, some sort of meaning, for what we're going through, we'll endure it. If we see it as meaningless, we'll much more easily give into despair and hopelessness. A cancer patient can endure weeks of chemotherapy if they know it's designed to make them better. A widow can endure days of grief when they know there is more beyond this life. We can endure a lot if we know there is a reason.
That's exactly what the Teacher is wrestling with at the end of the first chapter of Ecclesiastes. He uses the phrase "chasing after the wind" to describe something that is meaningless. Have you ever tried to chase the wind? You can't, really. Well, I suppose you can, but it will be an endless source of frustration, since "the wind" is not something you can catch or tie down. It goes and goes and blows and blows and you can't see it. The Teacher has tried pleasures and wisdom and knowledge and study and found it all to be a "chasing of the wind." It's meaningless.
Or is it? Is it possible the Teacher has missed something here?
The word for "wind" in both Hebrew and Greek (Ecclesiastes was written in Hebrew) is the same word that is used for "Spirit." Specifically, in the Bible, the same word is used to describe God's Spirit or, in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit. In fact, Jesus uses the same imagery as the Teacher to describe the Spirit: "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). You can't pin down or catch the Spirit—but when he comes into your life, when you are saved by grace and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, true meaning and hope and joy and power comes into your life.
You can't catch the wind. You can't pin down the wind. But you can invite the wind/Spirit to come in and dwell in your life. If you haven't done that...why not now?
And I always remember a book I read many, many years ago. Victor Frankl was a Holocaust survivor, and his book is called Man's Search for Meaning. Frankl's assertion is this: one thing that made a huge difference between those who survived and those who perished was whether or not they could answer the question, "Why?" If we have a reason, some sort of meaning, for what we're going through, we'll endure it. If we see it as meaningless, we'll much more easily give into despair and hopelessness. A cancer patient can endure weeks of chemotherapy if they know it's designed to make them better. A widow can endure days of grief when they know there is more beyond this life. We can endure a lot if we know there is a reason.
That's exactly what the Teacher is wrestling with at the end of the first chapter of Ecclesiastes. He uses the phrase "chasing after the wind" to describe something that is meaningless. Have you ever tried to chase the wind? You can't, really. Well, I suppose you can, but it will be an endless source of frustration, since "the wind" is not something you can catch or tie down. It goes and goes and blows and blows and you can't see it. The Teacher has tried pleasures and wisdom and knowledge and study and found it all to be a "chasing of the wind." It's meaningless.
Or is it? Is it possible the Teacher has missed something here?
The word for "wind" in both Hebrew and Greek (Ecclesiastes was written in Hebrew) is the same word that is used for "Spirit." Specifically, in the Bible, the same word is used to describe God's Spirit or, in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit. In fact, Jesus uses the same imagery as the Teacher to describe the Spirit: "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). You can't pin down or catch the Spirit—but when he comes into your life, when you are saved by grace and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, true meaning and hope and joy and power comes into your life.
You can't catch the wind. You can't pin down the wind. But you can invite the wind/Spirit to come in and dwell in your life. If you haven't done that...why not now?
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