We're Back! A LifeGroup Story

We’re Back! A LifeGroup’s Story

There is an old thought problem referred to as the Ship of Theseus that you may have heard. Although most would likely recognize it more commonly referred to as ‘Grandfather’s Axe’. Assume you have a family heirloom, an old axe, that has two parts, the wooden shaft and the steel blade. Because this is a family treasure you want to take care of it, so when the wooden shaft becomes aged and decrepit you have it replaced. Later, when the steel head becomes rusted and pitted you replace it as well. Since both parts have been replaced, is it still “grandfather’s axe”? Or has it become something new? Is it still a treasured heirloom, or just another tool in the shed? While ponderous as a thought experiment it’s good proof of a concept. That sentimentality is a choice. Attachment is directed where we desire. Grandfather’s axe is special because you choose for it to be, no matter its constituent parts. 

This is our first week back to Lifegroup in a good little while and things are a little different. Aside from the new location, we are also beginning a new study in Ecclesiastes. And seeing as such, it is good to touch base with a few of the basics about our motley little crew. We are called Untitled. By literal definition we are a group of people in the midst of transition. This has a number of practical applications, chief of which is a lack of constancy. Schedules change, responsibilities change, priorities change. And that’s even in the best of circumstances, and those changes are so many times for the better! Like so much else, it comes down to an issue of attitude. One can see the changes and become frustrated by the lack of certainty, or one can see God moving in lives on a nearly daily basis and be excited by the prospect. Please don’t misunderstand, some of this does require a heavier lift than others. It is not easy to look at moving to a new location, ending a relationship, having to find a new job, taking on new responsibilities and so forth as a grand exciting journey of God’s design. These things are difficult, they present hardships, and many times are certainly not fun at all. And it can get messy, transitions are messy, changes are messy, and life can many times be very, very m….

..eaningless?!? “The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”” (Ecclesiastes 1:1-2) Not the most uplifting start from the author of Ecclesiastes to be sure. But perhaps a most honest one. It’s not a popular message from the pulpit certainly, but what would happen to the anxiety levels in our community if this message was promulgated? The opening of Ecclesiastes, aside from sounding nihilistic (it isn’t!), punctures the balloon of our self-importance. An egocentric worldview cannot coincide with the message that wisdom, pleasure, toil, and everything are meaningless. If humility is a key to wisdom, then to unlock it we must first unseat ourselves from the throne. The honest assessment that so much of what we spend our lives doing is meaningless is a “cruel to be kind” style way to do just that. If people require dramatic examples to shake them from their apathy, describing their life’s pursuit as meaningless just may do the trick! 

Aside from that “M” word, Solomon spells out his authority from which to make such a pronouncement. He described in significant detail why he’s reached such a conclusion. In short, he tried it all. And it all came up short. With wisdom he ruled over Israel, devoted himself to study and learning, built great vineyards, houses, gardens, parks. He owned slaves, herds, flocks. Amassed silver, gold, and treasures. “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure…Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 2:10a & 11) For those alluded to above, who wish things were back to the way they once were, Solomon points out that the end result is the same. A ‘chasing after the wind.’ How foolish is it not to embrace inevitable change if the end result is the same? Why both chase after the wind and be embittered? This is the danger for all who wear the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia. While it’s good to keep in mind the past in hope of not repeating it, you cross the line into foolishness once remembering turns to pining. You cannot step into the same stream twice, and according to Solomon, either way meets the same result. 

And here is an important lesson from Scripture. Don’t only read it in part! The Bible is the Word of God, singular. While it was compiled over centuries, in a plethora of countries and sources in a few different languages, it is one complete Message. One could stop in the early part of Ecclesiastes and leave depressed, but the trick is to not stop reading. God’s Work is not finished in Ecclesiastes chapter 1. As we’ve discussed, the past is prologue. And it is a prelude to something far greater. The sum total of man’s work here on earth is declared meaningless. But this is not an end, it is a description or observation. There is something about Solomon’s outlook I can appreciate and assent to. But I still retain a stubborn refusal to accept. Because we are not placed here accidentally. We are not forgotten children. We have been placed here for a purpose. And if God placed us here, then it is certainly with meaning. But for His Kingdom, not our whimsy. We have a future etched out for us. Written in blood. What imbues our lives with a meaning we cannot garner on our own is the toil of One Man. One who gave up His life, not because he saw the fruitlessness of our existence, but because His love surpassed all of our shortcomings. We strive for a meaning in our lives that we cannot accomplish on our own. (Solomon, after all, is correct.) Our lives have the meaning they are given, not earned. Our wisdom, our folly, our toil, our pleasure, our hardship are meaningless, this is true. But one of the reasons we worship God is that He has given us so very very much that we cannot gain on our own, and that we certainly don’t deserve. 

So what does this have to do with our Lifegroup? The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) is the oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat. Launched in 1797 she served her nation dutifully with noted success in the War of 1812. And while she retains none of her original timber or parts, after numerous retrofits, repairs, and modifications, she is still not considered a replica. It is still revered, not for what it is, but that for which it stands. A modern day reminder of a time we should not forget. Of lessons we’d do well to remember. Grandfather’s axe isn’t special because you have so much wood to chop. But because looking at it reminds you of someone you hold dear. Of the beautiful memories you cherish. And we are Untitled. You can swap out our membership, change the locale of our meets, switch up our study, or alter our makeup any number of ways. We’d still remain Untitled. Any person stumbling forward, grasping for God in the dark, looking for guidance at a crossroads, reconciling our messy past with the tumult of our present and the anxiousness of our future can lay claim to our creed. There is no constancy in our world apart from God. He is the only constant, and shall ever be so. From “the beginning” to “amen”, He is Alpha and Omega and every step along the way. As the song asks, Will The Circle Be Unbroken? The opening chapters of Ecclesiastes seem to suggest that it matters little in the question because the outcome is assured. I happen to agree. Our outcome is assured, a promise made on a cross, proved in blood, and signed with a resurrection. So why worry about the question, when the ending has been established? If sentimentality is a choice, then so is love. And the one constant this world has ever known has chosen you. Meaningless? Not by a long shot. 

Jordan Williamson