Nothing Here Is Yours
Proverbs 9 for those who have lost something
It is an uncomfortable reality knowing that nothing in this life is truly permanent or concrete. No gift, no job, no family member or pet truly is a constant in this life. The author of Ecclesiastes said it best when he said: “All is vanity.” The smart people, like this teacher, will go on complex journeys and construct multiple frameworks for why this is the case and what we are to do.
The most common answer I hear is that the gospel gives us hope for what lies beyond this life, and that we must simply keep our eyes fixed there. That answer is true. It is also, on its own, an evasion. It is true in what it affirms and thin in what it leaves out, because it quietly concedes that this life is a corridor to be endured rather than a table to be received. The Teacher will not let us have it that cheaply, and neither will the Tradition.
The Teacher himself concludes that we are to enjoy this life. Not just hope for the next. This life that we hold is something to be enjoyed. And this is the perspective of the sacramental worldview I have written about so often. So how is today any different?
Today is different because sometimes life does suck. Sometimes people suck. And sometimes life is just hard, and we end up being hurt or burned or disappointed. What do we do with that? How do we engage with these situations biblically?
For that, we turn to Proverbs 9, and we will see that the answer lies in receiving everything as a gift and that the answer lies in a eucharistic posture of heart, which receives everything as gift and grasps nothing as possession.
If you’re new to The Altar of Moriah, welcome! My name is Corné Gieselbach. I’m a theologian, author, and Chair of the Undergraduate program at TheosSeminary, with a PhD candidacy in historical dogmatics beginning this October. I publish every week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Paid subscribers receive every post; this includes Academy posts and devotional posts. Free subscribers receive weekly Wednesday essays. If this piece resonates, consider subscribing to support the work.
