But that approach guts Ecclesiastes of its real power. The statements of faith here mean something only when seen against the backdrop of all that is grim and despairing. And it's not just that the light of faith shines brighter against a black background. Instead the very poignancy of faith is deepened when we recognize that faith is held in creative tension with an honest assessment of life. Faith should seem more real precisely by being able to embrace the real.
Faith needs to exist in the face of life's enigmas.
Faith needs to be held even after we've come to terms with the limits of our existence. But what we can grasp is not the whole story. For now we just have to accept our rather lowly position in this ever-spinning and unimagineably vast universe, and do our best to serve God even still. Even when life does not make particular sense to us, it is our duty to plug on anyway in the belief that somehow, somewhere in God's infinite wisdom it will make sense, it will add up to something. But not easily and, for now anyway, not neatly or quickly.