the ecclesiastial truth

I've been spending quite a fair bit of time reading Ecclesiasties lately and have spent many hours and moments in the day contemplating about the first two chapters. For the initiated, you'd know that it's the part where Solomon- old, wise Solomon- declares that everything is meangless; that wisdom is meaningless; that pleasures are meaningless, that wisdon (note how "Wisdom" appears twice) and folly are meaningless; that even toil is meaningless.

I've always been fascinated by what's been written in these chapters ever since Angie (my former sunday school teacher) shared this with us one sunday. I mean, its a beautifully written prose with a poignant message that I don't think I've gotten till now. I've read those two chapters many times before, studied it in church, with friends and even had a poster once with the words "Everything is meaningless" stuck to my wall for frivolous good measure some years back when I was in one of those horrid teenage angsty phases.

I suppose, after all this time, after all these other experiences in between...something clicked as I re-read these passages again. A sudden eureka moment, one might call. Yes, I see it now, everything is meaningless- all the wealth, the cleverness, the hard work, the labour, the smarts and the fancy-mancy moralistic high-horse stuff we all espouse. It is all meaningless.

Save one thing: our heart.

It is this, broken and contrite, that truly matters.
Not the grand fights, the high achievements.
Not the well-done backpats or the worldly hoohas about how great we all are.

It is the good fight our heart battles.
It is the long race our heart runs.
It is the honesty our heart champions.
It is the forgiveness our heart embraces.
It is the courage our heart digs deep to find.
It is the truth our heart obeys.
It is the Love our heart cannot deny.