Ecclesiastes 7:2-4

"Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties.
After all, everyone dies - so the living should take this to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
for sadness has a refining influence on us.
A wise person thinks a lot about death,
while a fool thinks only about having a good time."

Reflecting a lot on this recently.  I never completely understood this passage, but as of recently, I get it.  I remember our Psalms and Wisdom Literature professor talking about this passage and agreeing wholeheartedly with it, while I sat back and questioned, "How truly are funerals and thinking about death wiser than going out and living our life to the best we can."  In the past weeks death has been creeping up in the places one would least expect.  The death of a young man we grew up with in a freak car accident.  The death of a baby so close to full term.  The death of my brother-in-law's good high school friend.  In it all, I can't help but think of the shortness, the futility of life.  I can't help but think "If life is so short, how do I want to be spending my every moment?"  Two things consistently come up: 1) If life is so short, I want to and need to be spending it in all out, full time ministry, and 2) If life is so short, I want to be close to family and true community.  So I'm reflecting and praying, praying for opportunities for ministry, praying for the Lord's guidance and vision for our lives.  And I'm consistently reminded of the words that come up frequently in the rest of Ecclesiastes, "There is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can.  And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of the their labor, for these are gifts from God" (3:12,13).  So in the midst of work and the busyness of life, I seek to make every effort to live with purpose, and to enjoy life.  (Which, as a sidenote, I'm thinking that means a vacation, because who know if we'll make it to next Summer!)  In all of this I pray that we will take this to heart, and that the Lord will teach us how to live every minute of our lives for His purposes.  Afterall, life is short and we don't know the timing of His ways.