Ecclesiastes 9:1-10

The Preacher lives in a world where there are no guarantees of success, even if one does what is right.  Rewards for righteous living are “in the hand of God” which means that they are out of our hands.  Strike hope #1. Neither can we expect reward at death, because the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and have no more reward. There is no work or thought in Sheol, where the dead go.  Strike hope #2.

These are unpleasant truths, and many religious people refuse to believe them.  But they are the truth.  They are just not the whole truth.  The whole truth came with the Truth, Jesus Christ, who promised a resurrection.  Without him, life has no meaning, and the righteous have no reward.  The Christian obeys out of faith in Christ, knowing that he, not prosperity or death, makes it all worth while.

LORD, give us faith in Christ, not in success or death.