“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart; but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11
In this Sunday’s message, Pastor Josh Kelsey dived into the question: Is there more to life than this? Every human heart aches with that question. Solomon, despite wealth and wisdom, confessed that life without God is hevel—a vapor, fleeting and empty.
The Ache of the Human Heart
- This question isn’t only for skeptics; it’s the silent refrain beneath even the most successful lives.
- Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes late in life, after wealth, wisdom, and power had peaked, yet he found it empty.
- Hevel (Hebrew: הֶבֶל) vapor, mist, fleeting, elusive. Life without God feels substantial but slips away.
- Humanity is finite but carries an awareness of the infinite; we are restless until we rest in God.
- Ecclesiastes 3:11: Eternity planted in our hearts; we long for meaning beyond the finite.
- Modern ache: despite stimulation and connection, depression and loneliness rise globally.
- Augustine: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”
The Counterfeit Paths We Try
- John 10:10a “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”
- Kleptēs: stealthy, deceptive, cultural or internal idols.
- Modern idols: Career, Romance, Wealth, Freedom.
- Romans 1:25: Exchanging truth about God for created things.
- False gods steal your soul incrementally; by the time you realize, you’re emotionally bankrupt.
- Idolatry isn’t just statues; anything we rely on instead of God (identity, security, meaning) qualifies.
- The tension between finite and infinite leads us to worship created things.
The Life That Truly Satisfies
- John 10:10b: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
- John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
- Zōēn (Greek) vital life sourced in God. Perisson – overflowing, beyond expected.
- Jesus doesn’t just repair life; He recreates it, bringing dead things to life.
- The abundant life isn’t more comfort, but more communion with God.
- John 10:11: The Good Shepherd lays down His life, absorbing our emptiness.
- The cross ends meaninglessness and begins redemption, Jesus doesn’t give life, He is life.
An Invitation to the Journey
- John 1:38: “What do you seek?”
- Jesus asks not for right answers but for honest desires.
- Divine echo: loneliness, doubt, boredom may be God stirring desire for depth.
- “Desire is infinite because we were made for the infinite.” - Dallas Willard
- Life apart from God is vapor; life with God is eternal.
- The more you seek is found not in yourself but through Jesus.
- John 17:3: “This is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
Discussion Questions
- What do you notice about the ache of the human heart in your own life?
- Which counterfeit paths, things that promise fulfillment but fall short, have you been tempted to follow?
- How have you experienced true satisfaction when you’ve sought God rather than temporary fixes?
- What does it look like for you to step into God’s invitation for a deeper journey with Him?
- Which Spirit-led practices (Present, Accept, Faith, Honest, Stand) could help you grow in your relationship with God this week?
