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Author: Ryan Higginbottom
Ryan lives in Washington, PA with his wife and two daughters and teaches mathematics at Washington & Jefferson College. You can connect with him on Substack.
If I could give advice to a young bride today, after three decades of experimentally learning how to live a life that’s hopelessly and gloriously intertwined with a man’s, I would urge her to embrace her dependence on her husband. I would tell her not to just embrace it, but to revel in it, enjoy it, and celebrate it as one of the great joys of married life.
We study the Bible not to become smart but to become wise in the things of God. We study the Bible to know the ultimate author, hear what he has to say, walk closely with him, and reflect him to the world around us. When we open our Bibles to observe, take notes, pray, ask questions, and search diligently, we will be transformed as our minds are renewed by the inspired words of God.
This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called How to Enjoy Your (Vain) Life. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!
Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.
When Christians think of Ecclesiastes, they probably think of vanity. If it’s been a while since they read or studied the book, they might only remember that famous line: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
And yet, even though “all is vanity,” not all of Ecclesiastes is about vanity!
A surprising thread runs through this gem of ancient wisdom literature. The Preacher wants his hearers to sober-mindedly face life and to enjoy themselves in the process.
There are a small number of passages in Ecclesiastes in which the Preacher explicitly discusses joy or enjoyment. I’ll be drawing from those passages for this post and connecting them to some of the larger themes of the book.
Our Days Are Few
Death is coming, and it may come much quicker than we’d like. This is one of the drums Ecclesiastes bangs repeatedly; it is also a key to enjoying life.
Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. (Ecclesiastes 5:18)
In the context of another passage about enjoying life, the Preacher also says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going” (Eccl 9:10).
Ecclesiastes puts our life in context, and one foundational context is that life is finite. We may act as though life will extend forever—that’s often easier than confronting our mortality, after all—but pretending does not conjure reality. This life ends, no exceptions.
It may seem counterintuitive, but accepting this truth makes life easier to enjoy. We cannot enjoy this life after we die; therefore, we should enjoy life now. Let’s push it a bit further: if, drawing on a monastic impulse, we refuse to enjoy what God gives us in this life, we do not honor our God who loves to give.
Receive God’s Gifts
In his book Living Life Backward, David Gibson presents one of the early contrasts in Ecclesiastes as gain versus gift. Will we take good parts of our human lives (work, wisdom, pleasure) and use them for our gain, or will we receive and enjoy them as gifts?
Recognizing the good things in our lives as gifts, the Preacher would contend, is crucial to our joy.
There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25) I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man. (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13) Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. (Ecclesiastes 5:18-19)
We honor God most when we enjoy his gifts as gifts—when we don’t try to make them into anything more. They are not meant to increase our status, they do not determine our identity, they are not a way for us to earn favor with God or others.
We are on the path to enjoying life when we recognize God as the good giver he is, developing the habit of receiving what God places in our empty, outstretched hands. The Preacher mentions food, drink, work, wisdom, knowledge, wealth, possessions, and marriage in the context of gifts of God we should enjoy. God does not give all of these gifts at all times to all people; yet when he gives, we can rejoice.
God Must Give the Joy
One of the most sobering passages in Ecclesiastes comes at the beginning of chapter 6.
There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil. (Ecclesiastes 6:1-2)
The Preacher writes this directly after noting how good it is when God gives power to enjoy his gifts (Eccl 5:19). So, let’s make this crystal clear: not all who have God’s gifts will enjoy them!
Common sense may dictate that joy rises and falls in proportion to our possessions, health, or other tangible markers of vitality. But that’s not the way God’s world actually works. God gives some great wealth and no joy while he gives others meager belongings and exceeding happiness. This is part of the upside down nature of the kingdom of God.
God Approves
The Preacher pulls few punches in Ecclesiastes. He writes about oppression, futility, and death. A lot.
Yet this honest assessment of the fallen creation, far from being a barrier to joy, is a prerequisite for joy. There is no hero’s journey we must undertake. Rather, we only need to see ourselves as finite and created, receive good gifts from our creator, and use those gifts in the way they are intended.
God gives to those who please him (Eccl 2:26); for those whose work he has approved, he tells them to eat with joy and drink with a merry heart (Eccl 9:7). The honest reader of Ecclesiastes must ask: How can I please God?
The looking-ahead answer that Ecclesiastes gives is to “fear God and keep his commandments” (Eccl 12:13). In its massive scope, and in the face of human sin, this points ahead to Jesus, the one who perfectly feared God and kept all of his commandments.
We may not think of Jesus as the most joyful human ever, but he was—and is. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, so those who walk by the Spirit will grow in joy. And instruction for growth in this joy is found in part, of all places, in Ecclesiastes.
Our confidence in Christ means we need not come to the news as anxious citizens or loyal partisans or helpless doomscrollers. We read as those whom Christ has chosen, redeemed, and forgiven according to the riches of God’s grace — as those included in God’s purpose to unite all things in Christ (Ephesians 1:4–10).
I can’t point to any single reason I’ve become less critical over the years. Surely the Holy Spirit has helped, convicting my heart in times of Bible reading and prayer (and through friends). Some of my growth is probably attributable to general maturity—as one ages he tends to get less fiery, I think. And no small portion of it can likely be credited to becoming the father of two young girls in the last six years. I would say being a girl dad has softened me more than just about anything—the Holy Spirit has certainly used this in his molding of my heart.
Creation Groans
Our poem of the week: Creation Groans, by Kate Bluett. This poem reflects on Romans 8 and imagines all that will be one day different in creation.
Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.
We dislike needing help. We resent our physical limitations. We’re frustrated by our emotions, disappointed by our failures, and unsettled by circumstances we can’t control. We despise the weaknesses that expose how little power we actually possess.
But perhaps we’re fighting the wrong battle. Weakness isn’t our enemy. Weakness is one of God’s greatest invitations.
If you seek your calling, look about you.
Reagan Rose helps us think about our present callings (in contrast to our possible future callings). Often, what God is calling us to right now is evident around us!
It’s easy to get so preoccupied with looking to the future that we neglect faithfulness in our present responsibilities. It’s easy to miss the glory of the mundane. But all of our responsibilities are important as we do them as worship unto the Lord and love to our neighbor.
Are you seeking to be holy as He is holy, reflecting the image of Christ in whatever roles or responsibilities you have right now? Whether you are working a job, studying for school, serving in church, or doing the dishes, your calling is to be maximally faithful to the task He’s given you.
How To Show Hospitality When You Live in a Small Home
First, don’t be ashamed of your house. We are all prone to judge one another by visible symbols of wealth like cars, clothes, and houses, and we knew that people would draw conclusions about us based on the size of our home. But we understood this to be the Lord’s provision for us and never wanted to be ashamed of what he provided. So we chose to be as thankful for our small house as anyone could be of their big one, and every bit as unashamed of it.
On the WPCA Blog This Week
This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Ecclesiastes As Invitation. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!
Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.
The book of Ecclesiastes occupies a unique place in the Bible. It is the only book of philosophy, it is the book that speaks most relentlessly about death, and it is the only book supplying the lyrics to a #1 Billboard song in 1965.
Ecclesiastes is also brutally honest about life in a fallen world. It is so honest, in fact, that some Christians find its assertions and conclusions difficult to stomach.
But we will make no apologies. The Preacher of Ecclesiastes takes a clear-eyed look at the world around him and reports his often-devastating findings. If we listen closely, these observations ring in harmony with the frustrations we hear from our neighbors, our coworkers, and our own hearts.
All is Vanity
My neighbors don’t usually use language like “vanity” or “meaningless,” but I catch the sentiment in some of their complaints.
What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:3, 5, 7, 9)
Perhaps you’ve heard (and thought) it too! I’m stuck, making no progress in my life. I hate doing all of these tasks over and over and over—it seems like I’m never done. I thought we were making progress as a society, but I see the same old things come up year after year.
Ecclesiastes opens with a discussion of the absurdity that gives the book its distinct flavor. Specifically, the first eleven verses of the first chapter provide the book’s most extensive explanation of the word translated “vanity” or “meaningless.” I’d wager that if you haven’t expressed some version of these thoughts, you probably haven’t been honest about your experience of life.
Return to the Dust
While we don’t often talk about death in casual conversation, everyone knows it’s coming.
I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. (Ecclesiastes 3:18–20)
Given the right setting and a close degree of friendship, we don’t need to scratch too deeply to broach this topic. Almost everyone has had a relative, friend, or pet die. Our lives are inescapably finite, and the Preacher of Ecclesiastes points this out in ways we might resent.
How steep was the fall of humanity into sin? The Preacher says: it was THIS steep—man has no advantage over the beasts. The Fall was devastating, with infinitely many consequences, and the Preacher insists we not look away.
Injustice
Whether in national headlines or in booths at local diners, injustice is a hot topic.
There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 8:14)
Why do the wicked prosper? Why aren’t good people rewarded? If we’re looking honestly at the world, we need to grapple with these questions and be ready to discuss them with our curious friends, because they surely are thinking (if not talking) about them.
An Invitation to the Bible
Our friends who have little familiarity with the Bible may be surprised to hear that these frustrations are voiced in the Bible. No, it’s not just “a list of rules” or “moral stories.”
Those same friends need to hear that the Scriptures also address those same frustrations. And, when possible, these friends need to hear it from us!
God knows the dissatisfaction and discouragement you feel. It’s in the Bible! Wouldn’t you like to hear the remedy the Bible prescribes?
Many people view Ecclesiastes as a confusing, downer of a book. But if we listen closely to both the Preacher and our neighbors, we might find instead that it is a great start to deeper, spiritually-significant conversations.
Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.
When God’s Plans Seem Inconsistent With His Promises
Kirsten Black writes about how the story of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac reveals the nature of faith. God will keep his promises even when we can’t see how that may happen.
Enduring faith trusts the character of God, even when his actions defy logic. Lasting faith believes who God says he is, even when experiences suggest otherwise. Sincere faith accepts that we cannot see the full picture. We can be certain, however, that we have a faithful God who knows and understands every aspect of what he is doing. He sees the beginning, the end, and everything in-between.
Cruising Downstream, Laboring Upstream
Tim Challies uses an analogy about canoeing on a river to help us understand growing in holiness.
You may know from experience that it is easy to take a boat downstream and much harder to take it back up. You certainly know from experience that it is easy to follow sin downstream and much harder to change your course to pursue holiness. As long as you go with the flow of your own desires, the ways of the devil, and the movement of the world around you, life is easy. You can stow your paddle and simply coast. But when you choose to turn toward the Lord, when you decide you will labor toward the Heaven he has secured for us rather than coast to Hell, you quickly learn that you are in for a struggle.
Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.
Perhaps in frustration you’ve thought, “I have tried everything and all that I have left is prayer.” You may have underestimated the magnitude of speaking to the Father on behalf of your kids but you’re about to discover how powerful it is. The God who is sufficient to transform a human heart is the same God who actively pursues the lost lamb till it’s found.
You may have heard about the Bible for years, but now you want to open it for yourself—perhaps for the first time. You’re in the right place.
In the Bible, the God who made the universe speaks. He reveals who He is, why the world exists, and why humanity is broken. The Bible shows us how sin has separated us from God, and how in love, He sent his Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross and rise from the dead so we could be forgiven and reconciled to him.
This week on the blog we published an article written by Meghan Watt called How Loss Informs Life. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!
Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.
Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.
Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out
Tessa Lind shares an illustration from her very own property about hiding our sin.
And we can then begin anew. No more trying to remember which lies we told to which people. No more internal knots in our gut as we consider our past deeds. Instead, we can lay a pure foundation in our lives, building on the solid rock of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will never rot or decay. We will never experience unseen sinkholes. Those who have Jesus as their foundation will survive and receive a reward.
Aging Is a Series of Relinquishments
Barbara Lee Harper shares about growing older. I appreciated how she included promises from God we can cling to in our older years!
In our forties, suddenly our body chemistry changes. I never had problems with dairy products until I was forty. When I asked my doctor why I suddenly did, he just answered “hormones.” I also became allergic to penicillin and sulfa around that time, though I had taken them for years before.
It seems the older we get, the more we lose physically. Our energy diminishes. Our health may go downhill. Our looks melt into wrinkles and greyness. Our vision and hearing may become problematic. Eventually, we might have to give up car keys. Our decreasing mobility may require walkers or canes.
Meditation XXII
Our poem of the week: Meditation XXII, by MarK Rico. This poem uses the image of walking in the water at the beach to reflect on our relationship with God.
Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.
Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.
Scattered
Melissa Edgington writes about being scattered in motherhood. I’m sure all parents can relate!
One thing I know about motherhood is that it never stops pressing me into my Savior’s side, whether I run to Him with a crushing hug of gratefulness and praise or I fall into His arms in desperation or even a longing for what used to be but isn’t anymore. While my family shifts and changes around me, Jesus stays right where’s He’s always been. When I’m scattered, He gathers. When I feel shaky, He reminds me there’s solid ground beneath my feet. When I’m teary-eyed in the kitchen, He fills my mind with good things. And when my children strike out into the world, He gets into the boat with them.
Five Myths That Keep You From Reading the Institutes
Have you read John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion? (I haven’t!) Anthony Faggiano thinks that some people resist reading this influential book because they have believed myths about it, and he’s here to correct those misconceptions.
I expected dry. What I found was closer to binge-worthy; I’d reach the end of a chapter and find it almost impossible not to begin the next. Six months later I had worked through the whole thing slowly enough to underline the key points, which turned out to be more than half the book.
Grave
Our poem of the week: Grave, by Kate Bluett. This poem puts the raising of Lazarus and the resurrection of Jesus together in the mind of one of the disciples. The last line is wonderful!
Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.
Romans 8 is a favorite chapter of the Bible among Christians, and for good reason. It is encouraging, memorable, and oh-so-quotable.
But because it is so beloved, it is easy to lose the main ideas of the chapter among the glorious promises. To be specific, what would you say Romans 8 is all about?
The Frequency of the Spirit
When we start to observe the text of Romans 8, one phrase jumps out. The Holy Spirit is all over this chapter!
A quick count reveals that the word “spirit” appears 22 times in Romans 8. This is the most that word appears in any chapter of the English Bible! (I made these counts and comparisons using the ESV.) This was unexpected for me, because I don’t often see people reach for this chapter to teach about the Holy Spirit.
Is the Holy Spirit the main subject of Romans 8? In my friend Peter’s post on Romans 8:28, he provided an outline of much of this chapter, so I won’t repeat it here. Even if the Spirit is not at the center of this chapter, he is indispensable to its main ideas.
What Can We Learn About the Spirit?
I thought it might be instructive to exercise our observation and interpretation muscles in a brief look at Romans 8. While focusing mostly on the occurrences of the word “Spirit” in this chapter, I’ll list some truths that are relatively straightforward from the text.
The Spirit is the “Spirit of life.” In contrast to the “law of sin and death,” which condemns, the Spirit’s law sets us “free in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:2).
The Spirit is opposed to “the flesh.” Christians walk according to the Spirit, not the flesh. They live according to the Spirit and set their minds on the things of the Spirit instead of living according to or setting their minds on the things of the flesh. The flesh brings death, but the Spirit brings “life and peace” (Rom 8:4–6).
Those with the Spirit belong to God. Those with the Spirit are “in the Spirit.” Without the Spirit of Christ you do not belong to God. Having the “Spirit of Christ” and having Christ in you appear to be the same thing (Rom 8:9–10).
Those with the Spirit will rise from the dead. If you have the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, that same Spirit will give you the same result (Rom 8:11).
We need the Spirit to “put to death the deeds of the body.” The parallel structure of Romans 8:13 also implies that putting deeds to death by the Spirit is what it means to live according to the Spirit.
All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s children (Rom 8:14). Part of what it means to have God’s Spirit (Rom 8:9) is to be led by God’s Spirit.
The Spirit we have received is the “Spirit of adoption.” This Spirit is contrasted with a spirit of slavery which leads to fear; the Spirit of adoption produces affectionate cries (“Abba!”) to our Father (Rom 8:15).
The Spirit testifies that we are God’s children. The Spirit “bears witness” along with our spirits that we are children of God. And as children, we are “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Rom 8:16–17).
We have the first fruits of the Spirit. Having the Spirit in this way causes us to groan inwardly along with the creation, as we await our adoption as children of God (Rom 8:23).
The Spirit intercedes for us. In our weakness, we don’t know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit helps us, praying with groans that are too deep for words. Because the Father knows the mind of the Spirit, he receives what is in our hearts (Rom 8:26–27).
Observation Leading to Understanding
Observation is necessary but not sufficient for understanding the Bible. It is a means, not an end. Observing the Bible is like gathering sticks for a fire: Without the wood, there’s nothing to burn; but the sticks themselves produce neither heat nor light.
But these observations and interpretations about the Holy Spirit help us toward the main point of Romans 8. We see how the Spirit marks and indwells God’s people, identifying them as his beloved children. This relationship with God produces suffering with our fellow heir (Jesus), but glory with him as well.
