December 30, 2024

And Men Began to Call On the Lord (1)

Words of Ministry

[Part 1 of 3] In Genesis 4 we find two names which are especially meaningful. The first one is Abel, which means "vanity." As a result of the fall, the human life became a vanity. Look at people today. Although they are very busy, within them there is a gap, a void. Deep within them is a sense of emptiness. Regardless of your social status, regardless how wealthy or how successful you are, when you sit alone in the quiet of the night or early morning, you know there is a gap within you. That emptiness is the vanity that I am talking about. This is exactly what the wise King Solomon meant when he said, "Vanity of vanities, all under the sun are vanity" (Eccl. 1:2-3). ...we must realize that as fallen men without God everything we are, have, and do is empty. We are nothing but vanity. The second name which is especially meaningful is Enosh, which means "frail, mortal man." After the fall, not only did human life become a vanity, but man also became frail and mortal. We must admit that we are frail, weak, and easily broken. How easily we fail! Man is mortal. No one can boast that he will live another week. No man knows his tomorrow. To escape the...fall of man we need to realize both the vanity of human life and the fragility of man. If we have this realization, we will have no trust in ourselves and, thus, we will not be presumptuous in departing from the way of God. [continued tomorrow]