The Wicket Gate

Good morning, or whatever time it may be where you are! We are discussing chapter
eight of Ecclesiastes and chapter thirteen of Don’t Waste Your Breath by Brian
Borgman. The Teacher continues to hammer home the important idea in spite of all we
can’t understand about God’s plan we are called to enjoy God through what we have
been given by Him in the time we have been given.

“There is futility which is done on the earth, that is, there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are evil men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility. So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun. When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task which has been done on the earth (even though one should never sleep day or night), and I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and though the wise man should say, “I know,” he cannot discover.” Ecclesiastes 8:14-17 NASB 95

After questioning the value of wisdom itself and the pursuit of wisdom in the last
chapter, the Teacher begins this chapter with a benefit of wisdom that comes from God.
It causes man’s face to shine and the grim or sour look is broken. I think we have spent
the last eleven weeks studying this type of wisdom 1) the understanding that we are
creatures and not in control and 2) that we are called to enjoy the Giver of gifts through
His gifts.

He sent his only Son to die for us on the cross and be raised on the third day
without us having to worry for a minute. We were not in the planning meetings, God
didn’t check with us first, remember- you are just the creature in creation. He is working
all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to his purpose,
and nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8). We
cannot see how He is working into the future, only in hindsight (Romans 9). Accepting
sovereignty is not easy but take a moment to think-the God who I have faith in will see
all things through, nothing is out of control, I am exactly where I am supposed to be, and
where I am going by Grace and spiritual discipline, He will equip me for battle.
Christians must make a habit of keeping Jesus on the mind and in the heart,
ready to see the big picture in any situation. Filling the mind always, whether in constant
prayer, praise, or admiration, striving toward a constant state of Christian meditation.
Near constant meditation on Christ causes Christians to grow in wisdom from all his or
her experiences, that wisdom causes the frown to disappear in a shining demeanor of
grattitude. Borgman states on page 132 “Wisdom, in an upside-down world, can bring a
bright spot or two…Wisdom fears and trusts God. Give thanks that there is a God who
rules this messed up world.” “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the
knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:9). Orthodox understanding
(Wisdom) of the scriptures brings to the Christian peace and readiness by the Spirit for
all the trials of life.

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:33-36

I must speak from my creaturely experience, accepting God’s sovereign control is
humbling, freeing, and comforting. Each day taking at least one moment to
acknowledge Christ as King and pray for the strength to fully trust in Him. He is in
control, and we do not need to make things happen without Him or to satisfy His
requirements. This wisdom, when properly applied, frees the creature and causes
peace, joy, and sometimes happiness and exuberance- it causes the face to shine. I
can’t imagine a dour, sour grim look accepting that God is in control and has promised
to see us through, that the all-powerful I Am created, cares, and provides for our
creaturely needs and all we have to do is wholly rely on Him. When our demise befalls
us, according to His will, he sees ours souls to paradise, and will raise our perfected
bodies on the last day. In my opinion a very good reason for a shining face even in the
midst of whatever He has ordained to befall us in the meantime.

I can also tell you personally that before knowing the doctrines of grace, before
accepting the two aforementioned facts, life was a hard slog. My face was dour and
sour in spite of the fact that Christ had done all for me and my family and had so richly
blessed us. See my previous posts for more detail, without a checklist anywhere it felt
as though I was anxiously pushing forward to win the day. That hardness changed as I
read the scripture plainly, and by the Spirit my demeanor reflected all that Christ had
done for me and would continue to do into the future. “I sought the Lord, and he
answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.” (Psalm 34:4-5). I think I mentioned in a
previous post- this shining may look different on different people; introverts will exhibit
this radiance differently than extroverts. Maybe that is a cop out. He has made us all in
our own ways, and yet he can give introverts the ability to show radiance boldly and
perhaps even extroverts the ability to show radiance less loudly (lol). Either way, God is
working all things, including our interactions with each other. Peter states in 1 Peter
1:22-24, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere
brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born
again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of
God.” Pray for your attentiveness to the Spirit, that He would generate a desire to
outwardly show the joy and peace given in the scripture, to His glory and praise (Eph.
1:6).

I also want to give attention to verse six, concerning which I got ahead of
Borgman and the Teacher last week. Borgman writes “Many issues may be pressing
and seem to demand attention, but the wise man in his burden realizes he cannot plant
a flag on every hill and be prepared to die” (134). He then quotes Doug Wilson from his
book Joy at the end of the Tether “Prudence is not necessarily cowardice or
compromise,” in other words properly applied wisdom is an answer that may not look
like victory or defeat. Human interactions on earth in the flesh, Christians and non-Christians alike rarely have perfect answers according to our sensibility. Borgman
makes a good point that I may have not come fully to in my last post, hard decisions
may yield the wrong answers by those in authority, or perhaps answers we don’t want,
leadership is not a walk in the park. We desire for the will of God to be done, that may
mean mercy when there are cries for blood, that may mean severe punishment when
we think mercy is warranted. Holding fast to belief in the sovereignty of God allows us to
know it will all work out, even when we don’t understand decisions made. Borgman
states in summary of this section, “He has warned us that we do not know how things
will turn out no matter how wise we are. And now he wraps it up and says that even with
such wise behavior and submission to authority, that authority can still be abused and
people hurt” (134).

This does not mean we do not participate in leadership, or that we do not voice
our interpretations of events, or even that we don’t vote or run for office. This does
mean that we accept what happens and persevere in faith by the Spirit, also submitting
to the authority of the body of Christ as outlined in the Word. Sometimes leadership is
wrong to the point that individuals or groups must be held accountable for their actions
toward others, and we must not sit idly by as leadership injures groups for the sake of
submission to the authority. It is hard to write on these issues without separate address
for civil and ecclesial matters, they are different, and yet our submission to both is
submission to God. Christopher Ash in his book Teaching Romans exhorts his readers
with regards to submission to government in Romans 13:1-7 “There are exceptions (and
we should consider them), but we must not let the main burden of the passage die the
death of a thousand qualifications” (169). Furthermore Ash says, “It is a mark of the
mercy of God that he governs the world by governments” (169). I agree, I would rather
have some government than live in a “Lord of the Flies” situation, He is merciful to
provide leadership. God places Christians in both positions of submission and
leadership.

A Christian’s submission to civil and church authorities is imitating Christ’s
submission and when Christians are placed in positions of authority (civil or ecclesial)
they must strive to lead like Jesus- in love according to the will of the Father. Pray for
more opportunities for Christians to be elected or selected to lead, and that more
Christians will humbly heed that call to serve both in church and civil spheres.
The last piece of chapter eight I want to discuss in this post is the cinnamon roll
center found in verses fourteen through seventeen. Borgman begins on page 137 with
his love of a cinnamon rolls made by a particular sister in Christ. I love my wife’s
homemade chocolate chip pancakes, and I also enjoy our local bakery’s cinnamon rolls!
The center is the best part, “the sweet spot” of life, the part you sit back and just enjoy
God through His sweet gracious gifts. “And I commend Joy, for man has nothing better
under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil
through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun” (Ecc. 8:15). How fast
we read over the words without sitting to appreciate, meditating on the urging to enjoy
God by His gifts.

Hold those gifts loosely but hold the Giver tightly. I believe the Giver is
holding us in His hand if we want to get deeper into logistics, and He is not holding us
loosely. Find joy in corporate worship, friendship, family, sport, stewardship, and on and
on. Sourness is a waste! Maybe the people around you don’t want you to have this level
of joy, it’s not up to them- it’s between you and God. Prayer and a change of the people
around you may be possible, it also may not be possible. Paul’s urging to “as far as possible be at peace with all men” (Romans 12:18) requires prudence and commitment
to inward spiritual disciplines, practicing the presence of God (yes, brother Lawrence’s
book by the name is a good read) allows us to enjoy the cinnamon roll center regardless
of what may be our current situation. At times this can also be reflected in our demeanor
if company or environment allows, biting into that cinnamon roll center will cause the
face to shine and hardness to lift – remember verse one. Let the joy roll around in your
soul, emanating from your whole being, gratitude toward and enjoyment of God through

His gifts. God will ordain times of trials! Think not of the coming potential trials or times
of sorrow, enjoy the cinnamon roll center while the sweetness is electrifying your
tongue. Don’t waste the moment of joy on the anxiety of tomorrow, and don’t beat
yourself up for eating the cinnamon roll center because someone else may not have it.
Enjoy what God has given you in your short life, trust in Christ and what he has done for
you, what he is doing for you, what he will do for you when this flesh is done. Borgman
puts it well,

“As you enjoy the center of the cinnamon roll, don’t forget God’s work is still incomprehensible. So when we are burdened with a world gone mad, when troubles assail us, when nothing seems to make sense, what do we need to know? We don’t need to know what God is doing to have joy…I need to stick with the basics: life is a vapor, life is a mystery, God is in charge, fear him, trust him, and as always eat the center of the cinnamon roll.” (138)

In conclusion- if you haven’t picked up Borgman’s book yet, please do from
whoever you buy books from. So much to glean in his exposition of Ecclesiastes, and
excellent sources for further study. Meditate on Christ, pray the Spirit will enable you to
fill your mind constantly and heart with the knowledge and love of your Savior (Romans
12:1-2). Allow that mindset to shape every experience you have and choice you make in
this world, and for goodness’ sake enjoy that cinnamon roll! It’s not meant to sit in the
box going to waste while you sit, watch, and worry. Last, don’t be ashamed to shine-
show the joy God has given you, and remember He is in control and will see us through.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever
things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things
are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received
and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” Phillipians 4:8-9 NKJV