A thought to carry with us as we go about our daily life, as we go to work wondering why we have to seemingly toil and labor for what is meaningless. According to the author of Ecclesiastes (King Solomon purportedly) our life here is to be enjoyed in the sense of our work - our doctrine of vocation - the thing for which we are particularly gifted by God to do or perform. This gift is our ability to produce or serve productively those around us with our gift, and that we find fulfillment in during our days in this world.
The interesting eternal perspective on this verse is how we figure our "vocation" in a heavenly sense. Some think that heaven will be floating around on clouds, playing harps, and generally being bored. How about another perspective? Perhaps in heaven it will be the same as it is on earth - that we have a God-given vocation for which we are singularly equipped with our skills, talents, and inclinations. Do we respond to the calling for which we are gifted? If so, it is my thought that through the obedience of knowing and following our gifting, we are in the fulfillment of that gifting, we are fulfilling a tasking that God has given us, and in so doing through obedience to His calling in our life, we give our worship to the Lord. In and through this obedience we find fulfillment not only physically (hard work seems so much more fulfilling than a month full of desk time), but also mentally, and more importantly spiritually.
My point in the eternal perspective is that a reading of this verse could lead one to understand based on the reverse of what is described as "Sheol" that heaven will be a place of "activity (and) planning (and) knowledge (and) wisdom", whereas there we will find our fulfillment in the gifting that we are specially created for and that we find our deepest fulfillment - which is in Christ Jesus - but as an extension of that we were created for His pleasure, and conversely we find our greatest pleasure and fulfillment in the Lord. In the outworking of our gifting, we not only find fullfillment - but also our act of worship flows from our exercise of our gifting in service to the Lord - serving Him by using our gift for which we have been created.
The negative side of the eternal perspective? In hell, there is no fulfillment, our gift for which God created us was not only potentially squandered on earth in that life, but is now eternally squandered as none of the things that we find fulfillment in is available or possible in hell. There those who find themselves at that destination will have lost their gift, lost their fulfillment and joy which is found their communion with the Creator of their souls - Jesus. The eternal separation from God severs their ability to use their gift in service to their Lord. Instead, they will now suffer for eternity apart from God, and in the company of those fallen angelic beings (now demons) and Satan - also their gifts lost and corrupted for all eternity, for which they also cannot find fulfillment, if such beings find fulfillment in the exercising of their gift from God.
Bottom line? Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.
Find Christ - find fulfillment in Him by applying your gift with all your might and being satisfied in the knowledge that you are serving Him when you are serving others through love for the Creator.
