Life's Vanity & Christ's Beauty

"‭Vanity of vanities, says the preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity."

~ Ecclesiastes 1:2

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"And this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom You have sent."

~ John 17:3

How sweet to know that the purpose of our lives is to _know_ Christ Jesus! When once a person has received new life in Christ, their former life outside of Christ is seen for the utmost vanity that it was! Consider how in our former vain way of life (1 Peter 1:18) we laboured to acquire things that might give us temporal happiness only for it to slip through our fingers and all of it for a life that would soon end in the grave.

But when Christ died that we might live, He not only became the single great object of our lives; He is our life now! He is the Vine in Whom we abide and can do nothing apart from Him (John 15:5). And how blessed to be attached to this Vine. Therefore it is no longer we who live but Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20), and no life in Christ can possibly be vain.

The question is: do we live for ourselves or unto Him who died for us? (2 Corinthians 5:15) Give up living for yourself my dear reader, since it is a weary and restless life. As the preacher of Ecclesiastes says, "The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing" (Ecclesiastes 1:8). But come and behold Christ in all His glory, and you will at once be captivated by Him.

But you may ask, how do I behold Him? Praise the Lord, we need only open our Bibles and study His word and we shall gaze upon His excellencies: His holiness, humility, justice, power, kingship, love, and so much more. Commune with Him daily in prayer and the Holy Spirit will enable you to lay hold of His promises, thereby revealing more of His glory through His power to help you. Surround yourself with those who love Christ and speak often of His loveliness and you shall behold Him through the eyes of brothers & sisters in Christ.

Come now to the One who gives abundant life to the full in Himself (John 10:10).