Power to hurt each other ...

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I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other. I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless. And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless! -Ecclesiastes 8:9-10,14 NLT

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These verses cause me to flashback to the ending of the first Godfather movie where a young Michael Corleone has gangster leaders murdered as he becomes Godfather of his sister's child. Violent and perverted people often seek the legitimacy of the institution of religion yet are in no way attracted to following God. While I cannot relate to Michael Corleone I do resonate with the attraction of religious affirmation and the judgmental attitude that accompanies it.

The unfairness of this life is reflected in the ways that Solomon speaks of the evil being honored and how good people are often treated as bad people. Reminds me of that cynical saying: "Life is not fair and then you die." Sometimes our journey seems like that. Even so, I find in the life, teaching and ministry of Jesus Christ a power that heals rather than hurts ... a power that sees people as ones whom God loves ... a force that brings love and hope to the world.

Help us dear Lord Jesus Christ to see past our cynicism and embrace the love that you showed us on the cross.

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