"Meaningless, meaningless," says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless, everything is meaningless."

"What has been will be again. What has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."

"What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This, too, is meaningless."

So the writer (Solomon) speaks in Ecclesiastes.

In that meaningless circle, life is really a senseless episode, a repetitious monotony. And added to this vain circle are war, affliction, illness, fear, hunger, sorrow and many other adversities. And the end of it all is death.

All this is the result of sin.

Into this meaningless circle of life came Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Living One. He could say that He was "the resurrection and the life." As prophet He told us something new, mysterious and different. He spoke of a new life, a life that has pur­pose and a goal. On the cross He paid for the sins of His people, to obtain the right to establish that new kingdom of life. And with His resurrection it all began.

He conquered death for all His people, so that the believer really never dies (John 11:25, 26). When the Lord returns there will be the marvellous resurrection of all our dead bodies.

But much more is involved in His resurrection. The Lord begins a "new program," a "new world order," establishing His new spiritual kingdom. The Chris­tian, in his new birth, becomes a "new creation," says Paul. In that regeneration, the "first resurrection" takes place. This is followed by a life in which Christ is doing His work in us and through us. That will culminate in the new heaven and earth on the great, final day when the Lord returns.

The natural man, according to the Word, also here in Ecclesiastes, is pictured as one running in a circle and getting nowhere, in frustration and despair. His effort ends in death. But the child of God, because of Christ, is delivered from that vicious circle and set running on a straight line, a straight course that will end in heaven. Now every day is new and has real meaning.

In this program the risen Lord is gathering and building His church, and establishing His kingdom. Sinners have to be saved, then, as His people, fear Him in love, and learn many important lessons in the great school of life.

To accomplish this the Lord uses His people, works through them, through their faith and spiritual ac­tivities. He uses pastors, theologians, elders and deacons and evangelists. But He also uses the office of all believers, with mothers in the home, fathers working every day to raise a Christian family, factory workers, business men, politicians and farmers, who when they work and live in faith are all used by the Lord in this new work.

Every Christian has a calling here, old and young, parents and grandparents, healthy and sick. Everyone has to be a kingdom worker in some way, and not the least, the poor widow with her devotion and love and simple, meaningful prayers.

All of nature is also given to the risen Lord Jesus to be used for His new kingdom. He controls the weather, health and sickness, rain and drought, war and peace, even tensions and problems of the great rulers of the nations. All things are made to work together for good for those who love Him. And even though the devil does his utmost to thwart the cause of the risen Lord, his work and attempts are doomed to fail. Jesus alone is Lord.

It is about this new work of the Lord that Paul speaks in the last verse of 1 Corinthians 15. These Cor­inthians were new converts. They had some serious problems. They believed that Jesus arose from the dead, but they did not understand how believers would be raised. When their fellow Christians came to the end of their lives they died and were buried. Paul therefore emphasizes in this chapter the blessed relation of the believers with Christ. He is the head, and if the head was raised, members of the body must also arise. He also uses the example of the seed. It has to be sown in the ground if the new life is to come forth. So we have to be buried and later will be raised.

Finally in the chapter he comes to a grand climax, with the words:

Where O death is your victory?
Where O death is your sting?
Death has been swallowed up in victory.

What we swallow is gone. Thus death is gone. Christ is victorious. Not only in that His people will be raised from the dead, but also in the great truth that in the work of this risen Christ everything "spells" victory.

In war one side is usually the victor and the other the loser. But even the victor has many losses. Not so is the work of the risen Christ. It's not that Christ is victorious over the devil and death, but that the devil still inflicts serious losses in the lives of Christ's people. For Christ, all is victory. Christ is able to make all things work together for good for them that love Him, in His new kingdom and world order. In that new work the devil will have nothing; he will be a complete loser. And Christ will be victorious in everything.

In that context, Paul comes to this climax in the last verse of this classic chapter, by exhorting us to "abound in the work of the Lord," the risen Christ.

In this program we must "be steadfast and im­movable." In the N.I.V. we read that we must stand firm and let nothing move us. No doubt, this refers to our faith and place in this new work of Christ. It doesn't always seem as if there is something new in this old world. It doesn't always seem that Christ is Lord and in control of the entire world. In fact, what we see is the very opposite. This is a matter of faith. Often evil seems to triumph, and the work of the Christian church seems futile. Sometimes we feel like saying what old father Jacob said when his youngest son also had to go to Egypt, "All these things are against me."

"Be on your guard," Paul means to say. "Be firm, and let nothing move you in your position and work of faith." Why not? "Because our Lord is always in control, He is always successful. Your work in the Lord is never in vain."

"Therefore," we must give ourselves fully to this work of the Lord. The older versions say that we must "abound in the work of the Lord."

What a call this is, what a challenge! Wouldn't the business man, if he knew that he would always be successful, work as hard as he could?

There is much that has to be done in the church, in missions, and in the individual lives of God's peo­ple. Often it seems to be mere repetition, day after day, and year after year, and it may seem to be mean­ingless. But this is never true. In the kingdom, every day of work, every deed done in Christian love and faith, is used in some way for the advancement of the cause of our victorious Lord.

Nothing is futile "in the Lord."

Give yourselves therefore fully to His work. Remember, Christ uses everything, every deed of every Christian, whether he be a pastor or layman, a leader or common member in the church, for the good of His cause. Often He works mysteriously, and for us, this is purely a matter of faith. But He is working, and always successfully.

Giving ourselves fully also means that here there is no retirement. Let no one in the kingdom ever say, "I've done my share." Aren't we going to be judged according to our works? He wants us to do a lot of work, as long as we live. Also volunteer work.

Give yourselves fully, in pleasant but also somber days, when you can work with others, or when you must plod on alone, when you can see fruits upon your labor, but also when it appears to be done for nothing.

What a word for thousands who work as little as possible, who give little, read little in their Bibles and pray little!

In this meaningless world, where the risen Lord is doing His new work, go forth in faith and do not become weary in well-doing. And experience the joy of serving your living Lord and Savior.