Ecclesiastes 6: Too Many Words

I knew exactly what I wanted to write about when I woke up this morning.  And then I went back to the Bible and found a new passage.  This time Solomon's really stepping on my toes.

In chapter 6, verse 11, he writes, "The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?"

Whoa.  Does he know what I do with my life?  

I talk.

I read.

I study.

I write.

Mostly I use words.  

And yet, there is meaning that extends beyond words, meaning that can't be contained by mere words. 

Think about love.  The more I write about it, the more I limit it's scope.  Love is expansive.  We can describe it, but we can't fully define it.  We need to experience it.  

And even then, there's more.  

If I limit the meaning of love to what I can say about it, it's not everything it can be.  

And God.  We can say a lot about Him, but there's always more to say.  I can try to describe his glory, but his glory is beyond description.  I can tell stories of what he's done, but there will always be more stories, and he reveals himself not only through what he's done in the past, but what he's doing right now and what he will do in the future.  

He's beyond understanding, beyond definition, beyond words.  

I can't limit him to what I can say about him.  I must experience his presence.  See him work in my life.  See him work in the lives of people around me. 

I know him through worship as much as I know him through what I read.

I know him through nature as much as through what I write.  

I know him through his people.  

Okay.  That's already too many words.