Ecclesiastes and the Gospel of John

I have a confession to make.

I don't read my Bible as often as I should. I don't know what it is about doing the things I should do but they are never as easy to do as they sound. I mean, I pick up and read books all the time with little effort. Yet, to read my Bible, I have to make myself do it. I have to make a conscious effort. That doesn't seem right and I know it is something I need to work on. The Word of God should be something I crave yet I leave it sitting on my bedside table day after day. After long periods of not reading my Bible I do begin to thirst for it so I begin reading, everyday, for a about a week or so. It doesn't last very long.

When I do go to read, like today for instance, I always seem to find myself opening up to the book of Ecclesiastes or the Gospel of John. I have read the Bible in its entirety and I find awesome truth in every book but there is just something about Ecclesiastes and John.

The book of Ecclesiastes is very poetic which is something I appreciate. I love the way it is written and how it seems to be a struggle all the way up until the end when the simple conclusion is this: "fear God and keep His commandments for He will bring every act under judgement" (my paraphrase).  I love that because I used to write poetry and most of my poetry was very sorrowful. I have always been one to embrace sadness and feelings of hopelessness. I loved to write a poem that was full of sorrow and a sense of lost and then at the end put in a little ray of hope. I think that's why I like Ecclesiastes so much. Life is futile, pointless, the book says. Yet at the end we find a purpose and we find a bit of hope. The purpose is to fear God and keep His commandments and the hope is that He will judge every act whether it be good or evil. To me, that's the reality of life. Life is hard, hurtful, and sometimes there is a sense of hopelessness yet I know that, as a follow of Christ, I have a purpose and a hope. To me, that's beautiful.

Courtesy of Still Light Media

The Gospel of John is another favorite for three reasons: the perspective of the Gospel given, chapter 17, and the mentions of the disciple whom Jesus loved. Of the four Gospels John is the oddball. (I tend to love anything that is unusual, different, and out of the ordinary). All you have to do is take a look at the beginning of John and it's obvious that it is not like the others. (Which is why Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the synoptic Gospels). The book gives a different perspective of the Gospel and it is quite interesting to study. When reading John a few years ago chapter 17 really stood out to me. In this chapter Jesus is praying for His disciples and it is so moving. Anytime I read it I feel closer to God because Jesus wasn't just praying for the twelve but for everyone who would believe; that includes me. That's crazy to think about but Jesus prayed that all His disciples would be one with each other and one with Himself and the Father. Just to read Jesus' words to the Father is awesome but to know that He was beseeching God on behalf of His followers is even better; it makes it personal and real. Another thing about the book of John is the mention of "the disciple whom Jesus loved." This has always been fascinating to me. Who this disciple was is debated yet unknown but the traditional belief is that it was John himself. Another theory I have heard is that the disciple was Lazarus which is an interesting theory but only a theory. The fact that this title of "the disciple whom Jesus loved" even existed is interesting to me. And it is even more interesting that it was this disciple who wrote the book of John (check out John 21:24). I would like to believe that this disciple is indeed the apostle John (the same John who traditionally wrote 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John and Revelation). However, there is no way to truly know. The fact that there was such a disciple is intriguing and I love the way he ends his book, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written" (John 21:25). I must say, "Mr. Beloved Disciple, I like your style."

So, if you're like me and you haven't read your Bible in a while, pick it up, dust it off, and dive into one of these books. You may find yourself going back for a second, third, or 100th read.