Having completed our brief adventure through the story of Ruth yesterday, I’ve been thinking about what new and exciting adventures we could go on together, and I think I have an idea. How about taking a little trip through Ecclesiastes? We can see what life looks like under the sun, become all worn out in the pursuit of wisdom, get depressed when we can’t find it, and stress out over the lack of meaning in everything  “under the sun.”

Or maybe we’d be thrilled to discover that all of the things we suspect about this world are really true!

Out there on the dusty trail of Ecclesiastes, we might also realize that nothing in this life is quite what it appears to be. Maybe we can find silver linings for all of our clouds, or maybe clouds for all of our silver linings… who knows what we will find?

Hey, isn’t that what an adventure is really all about?

All right troops, let’s settle down for bit. Ecclesiastes can be a tricky little book, and the smart ones love to argue about it, and that’s half the fun, because on this adventure of ours we might even discover that there isn’t all that much to really justify most of the arguments anyway, because even though it’s a tricky book, once you realize what is going on there, it can be a wonderful tricky little book.

What is my definition of a “wonderful tricky little book”?

It’s a simple teaching that confounds the experts in its simplicity; my favorite thing!

I hope you’ll join me on this new wonderfully tricky little adventure through Ecclesiastes, starting right here on Monday morning.

What will you need to bring along?

Well, please bring a canteen of water and a sun visor, since we’ll go out there under the sun. Please bring good durable shoes… and of course, don’t forget to bring your thinking cap. A sack lunch is optional, a morning snack will be provided.

See you Monday morning!