BBD 07.28.05 The Empty Highway
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
make this transition and during this time the old website will remain at the
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The Burning Bush Devotional
1,386 New Subscribers since November 2004
07.28.05
The Empty Highway
(Originally sent 02.20.03)
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 'Vanity of
vanities,' says the Preacher;
'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.' What profit has a man from all his
labor in which he toils under the sun? - Ecclesiastes 1:1-3.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His
commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. - Ecclesiastes 12:13.
North Korea has carved the four-lane "Reunification Road" through the
mountains and deep gorges. It was built at great expense in money and in
human life. An interesting feature of the highway is the almost total
absence of traffic. The vehicles that do travel the road besides bicycles
are mostly army vehicles and those are in sad shape. There are more vehicles
in the capitol of Pyongyang but still the traffic is a long way from
becoming a traffic jam. An interpreter for a journalist said, "Recently we
began producing our own cars in Korea in the city of Nampo. They are called
Hwiparam - it means 'whistle' in Korean." The Journalists asks her to point
out one of these new cars the next time she sees one. But she replies, "I've
only seen it on television."
Some reaching the end of their lives see the paths they have traveled which
were built with great expense. But the pathways they traveled are empty of
life and meaning. They wonder what was the purpose of such a life of
emptiness? Why did they travel that way and why did they travel this way?
How they ask did they arrive at the end of their lives with so little of any
importance when they contemplate the eternity ahead? How did they end up
like this?
Solomon too struggled to find meaning in life even with the great wisdom he
had been given by God. He strived to find meaning in a wide variety of
endeavors and activities. You can feel his frustration through one
translation of Ecclesiastes 1:2 which translates the verse in this way, "'Meaningless!
Meaningless!' says the Teacher. 'Utterly meaningless! Everything is
meaningless.'"
Although Solomon traveled down many expensive empty highways in his life it
is thought that toward the end of life he came to his senses. In the last
chapter of Ecclesiastes, Solomon sums it all up by saying, "Let us hear the
conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this
is the whole duty of man." Solomon came to the conclusion that in order to
have meaning and purpose in life that God had to be included in the
equation. A life devoid of the presence of God results in an expensive
highway with very little meaning. But a life filled with the presence of God
results in traveling paths that bring great joy, meaning, satisfaction, and
eternal purpose into our lives.
What kind of highway have you been building?
Copyright © 2003-2005. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the
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