Eternity In Their Heart

The book of Ecclesiastes is probably one of the least-read—and perhaps least loved—books of the Bible, yet chapter three of Ecclesiastes is famous, thanks in large part to the rock band The Byrds and their 1965 hit song “Turn! Turn! Turn!”  Similar to the lyrics of that song, chapter three begins:

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven—

A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.[1]

Verse 8 contains the lines that served as the climax of the song:

A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.[2]

Verse 8 is where my appreciation of Ecclesiastes always stopped. But a line from verse 11 recently struck me: “He has also set eternity in their heart.”[3]

That is what God did to me before I was a Christian. He set the longing for eternity in my heart. I was tormented in my mind and my soul by the brevity of life. I wanted to live forever, but that seemed impossible. Even if my achievements could somehow live on, I couldn’t. Life appeared to be so meaningless that I actually contemplated suicide.

That longing for eternity eventually led me to Christ, which is the only path to eternal life.[4] But let’s be clear about exactly what that involves, because in my experience too many Christians try to oversimplify it.

Remember the story about the rich, young ruler?[5] The question that young man asked Jesus was, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”[6] And ultimately, Jesus’s answer to that question was this: “Follow me.”[7]

Similarly, the familiar story of the good Samaritanwas prompted by the question, “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”[8] The answer was essentially this: love God with your whole being, and love other people—as in, love everyone, including strangers, and even people you don’t like.[9]

I suppose every Christian, and many unbelievers, are familiar with the language of John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:36 is similar, except that it adds language that clarifies what “belief” truly entails: “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

If John 3:16 says we only have to “believe,” why does John 3:36 talk about obedience? It’s because the English word “believe” does not do justice to what the original Greek word, pisteuô, means. It’s much more than simply believing God exists, or that Jesus lived and died, or even that he rose from death. It means trying to live like you believe those things. In my humble opinion, the Greek word, pisteuô, is closer to our word “surrender”—as in surrendering our lives to Christ. And if we surrender our lives to him, we need to try to do what he wants us to do. As Jesus once told his followers, “Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”[10]

So what does he want us to do? Love God and love one another. Simple to say, hard to do. But if you have that longing for eternity in your heart, that is what you must try to do.

[1]. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

[2]. Ecclesiastes 3:8

[3]. Ecclesiastes 3:11

[4]. See Acts 4:11-12, where Peter says that Jesus Christ “is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.” And see John 14:6, where Jesus famously says, ““I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” That said, I do not believe that only Christians may be saved. That is for God to decide. I only believe that those whom God does save will be saved because of who Jesus is and because of what Jesus did for all us on the cross.

[5]. See Matthew 19:16-26, Mark 10:17-27, and Luke 18:18-30.

[6]. Luke 18:18; see also Matthew 19:16 and Mark 10:17

[7]. Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, Luke 18:22

[8]. Luke 10:25

[9]. See Luke 10:25-37.

[10]. Luke 6:46