As I lay in bed one night it suddenly occurred to me that I am forty-two years old. In just 30 years I’ll be 72. At 72 I will not have the strength and perhaps not even the mental capacity to accomplish a great deal. If I am to leave behind any lasting good it will have to begin now.

Do you ever think about what the purpose of your life is? Is there more to life than just waking up, going to work and doing the same job, coming home and spending time with the family and going to bed again? Oh, for some people there is more. George Washington and Abraham Lincoln left their mark on a country. Even though we may not think of it every day, Alexander Graham Bell is part of your life and mine. What am I going to leave behind?

Few of us get to be president or invent a device that changes the way the world conducts its affairs. Do we just exist until old age or disease takes us?

King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, pondered this very question. His wealth was so vast that he was able to experiment with every desire imaginable to see if satisfaction could be found in it. He wrote the book of Ecclesiastes so that we could benefit from what he learned.

He tried gaining all knowledge. His conclusion: “For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow” (1:18). Don’t we often think that going back to college is the answer to our dissatisfaction? Solomon says wisdom is not the answer.

Solomon also tried pleasure. He commented, “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun” (2:10,11). A new house satisfies for a little while, but then the roof leaks, the paint peels or a floor rots. We take up a hobby, but after a while the new wears off. Traveling seems so exciting, but soon we look forward to our own bed.

Surely saving for retirement or becoming independently wealthy is an advantage. “There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt. But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand” (5:13,14). Solomon says that large bank accounts can be instantly depleted through some misfortune.

So, Solomon, what is the answer? “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil” (12:13,14).

There is great joy in God’s service. Life has a purpose because we are preparing for an eternal home. Raising our children is no longer a babysitting job until they leave home but the opportunity to mold a life for eternity.

Introducing friends, neighbors, co-workers and even strangers to a new, meaningful life in Jesus Christ has purpose. Helping others make sense of the scriptures and unlocking their meaning and usefulness is extremely satisfying.