My daughter recently performed in a production of Romeo and Juliet at our local community theater. As I strained my brain to understand the “thees” and “thous”, it reminded me of my favorite quote from Shakespeare.
In the dark drama Mac beth, the title character re- flects on his life's pursuit.
He had achieved his goal
of becoming king, but now feels guilty, disillusioned, and empty.
"Out, out, brief candle!" he laments. "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more.
It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
If your brain is now straining to understand the Shakespearean English, allow me to paraphrase:
Our life is like a candle
that burns out quickly. It's fleeting like a shadow. Life is like a poor actor who has his moment of glory on the stage but is quickly forgot- ten. Life is a story written by an idiot, full of all these ups and downs, passions and ambitions, but in the end, it's all meaningless.
As I said, Macbeth was a dark drama.
I’ve often wondered
if Shakespeare drew his inspiration for Macbeth's
famous soliloquy from the Bible. In the book of Ec clesiastes, wise, old King Solomon said something similar. "Meaningless! Meaning - less," he wrote. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." King Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes toward the end of his extraordinary and extrava- gant life. God had blessed Solomon with great wis - dom and intelligence. He worked hard and enjoyed wealth and fame beyond our wildest imaginations.
And what was Solo -
mon’s conclusion after a life lived big? "Meaning - less! Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaning- less!" The Hebrew word we translate as “meaningless” literally means "breath" or "vapor."
It is here for a moment
and gone in the next.
All of our great efforts,
our goals, our hard work are meaningless. None of it lasts. It is here today and gone tomorrow. It is a “chasing after the wind,” Solomon tells us.
Life under the sun, life lived in this world, is utterly meaningless … without God. At the end of the book of Ecclesiastes, after showing the fleeting nature of wealth and fame and life lived under the sun, Solomon encourages us to
remember our Creator and
to fear God.
That is the answer. That is where meaning is found, not under the sun, but be- yond it. Without God, life is meaningless. It's a brief candle, a walking shadow, a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signify- ing nothing.
Life with God, however, has purpose and
meaning. Your life is your opportunity to know and
believe in your Savior, Jesus. Because of Jesus and through faith in him, you are forgiven and have forever waiting for you in the happiness of heaven. Because of Jesus, what you
do here on earth means
something.
Your life is your oppor tunity to show and share
his love. Your life is your opportunity to serve him and others. Your life is your opportunity to enjoy the blessings, challenges, and plans God has for you here.
Sometimes, like Mac beth, we can feel like life has no purpose or point.
Nothing here on earth
lasts. Nothing gives lasting fulfilment. But with Jesus, your life has meaning.
Your life has a purpose.
Pastor Andrew Schroer has been a pastor for over 25 years and is currently serving at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Edna, Texas. You can find his latest books, “364 Days of Thanksgiving” and “364 Days of Devotion,” on Amazon.com.
