Parental Recap of Week 8 [24/25]

Passage: Ecclesiastes 9
Topic: Life

Initial Discussion (at church)

Chapter 9 begins with what seems to be a continuation of the reality of death for everyone. However, unlike Chapter 7, there is a more celebratory response to life knowing that the lives of the righteous are “in the hand of God” (9:1). Despite the frustration of this world – things not going our way, evil of all kinds, death, suffering – the person who is known by the Good Father can enjoy life because it is a gift. Only the Christian can say “life is full of difficulties, and it ends in death” and still have a heart full of gratitude, contentment, and joy regardless of possessions (v. 7), family life (v. 9a), and work (v. 9b).

There are two major implications to God’s sovereignty over our lives:

First, we ought to plan our lives knowing who we are and how little we control. Our physical lives on earth are temporary so “we need to learn that we do not control the duration, the direction, or the achievements of our life” (David Gibson).

Second, we ought to live our lives remembering the character and heart of our God. Our heavenly Father gives us good gift yet many times, it is not enough for us. “This was the nerve the serpent had touched in Eden, to make even Paradis appear an insult” (Derek Kidner). We live as if God’s good gifts are not sufficient for us. But through Christ – as the model of thankful living and the evidence of a loving Father – we can grow to see the overflowing care God pours out on us where we are normally blind.

Continued Discussion (at home)

1. Are our days filled more with discontentment and complaints or with thankfulness and joy? How does our understanding of God affect this? What about our understanding of what satisfaction looks like in our lives?
2. God has given us life not to be enjoyed for ourselves and by ourselves. What would it looks like for a Christian to show their gratitude for life by their actions?
3. If things we hoped for doesn’t pan out in our lives, do we envision a God laughing at us for thinking it would? Why would God allow or not allow some things to happen in our lives and still be good?
4. What habits and distractions do we allow in our lives that keep us from finding true satisfaction and joy in this life that God gives?