MORE THAN BEASTS

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Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.
Ecclesiastes 3:16‭, ‬19 ESV

¶The passage is introduced by a key phrase: "under the sun". Solomon cannot claim all things to be beautiful under the sun. Yes, it is wise to acknowledge that we share a creaturely nature with "the beasts", in that we are all beasts. If we are more than that, is it not because of anything we can do, or have done. We are more than beasts because of what God has done. He has spoken words of life to us. He has given us His Spirit. He has opened heaven up to us, so that life is not just "under the sun", but "under heaven", so that our lives are not merely vanity, but significant, imbued with meaning from on high, worthy of striving for things of eternal value, heavenly value.

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