#296 Meaningless!

This past Sunday I preached in another church, so I brought a sermon from the series I preached on Ecclesiastes last fall. Getting back into Ecclesiastes reminded me of some of the things I learned while preparing those sermons—things I had considered blogging about last fall but never got around to.

At the heart of the book of Ecclesiastes is a Hebrew word that gets repeated over and over again. Transliterated into our alphabet, the word would look like "hevel." This word is used to refer to a breath or a vapor, something that's transitory and doesn't last long. In Ecclesiastes, the word seems to carry a sense of futility and meaninglessness. (Older Bible translations used the word vanity, though today we tend to think of people being full of themselves when we hear "vanity.") The human author of the book laments that all sorts of things are "hevel," even saying that everything is "hevel."

The Bible also commonly uses "hevel" in one other way: to describe the worthless idols that people serve instead of the one true God. I find that really interesting because many of the things that Ecclesiastes dismisses as "hevel" are the kinds of things that we are easily tempted to make into idols: things like wealth, wisdom and knowledge, pleasure, work and achievements,  youth and energy. I don't think this is a coincidence. I think that through Ecclesiastes God is intentionally exposing our idols. God shows us that these earthly things fade and cannot last. These false gods cannot give ultimate meaning to our lives; only God can. These things can be good and enjoyable if gratefully accepted and used as gifts from God, but if we try to build our lives around them, they will only let us down in the end. Rather than chasing after things that are "hevel," God calls us to seek and enjoy Him, the eternal God who offers us everlasting life with Him through Christ Jesus our Savior. That's a message God's people—me included!—need to hear again and again.

Grace and peace,

BMH

#295 You Will See My Life through Your Eyes as Your Life Will Be Seen through Mine

We have a baby boy at our house! Jeremiah Brian Hofman was born on Wednesday, May 3. His birth was not nearly as surprising and stressful as Mia's birth, but it was eventful enough in its own way. Jeremiah was due on May 27, so he was born about three weeks early. Tess's blood pressure had gone up the previous Saturday, which put us on alert. Jeremiah continued to seem fine, so we were hoping to make it at least another week so that he could be considered full term. But on Wednesday Tess went in to meet with the surgeon and was informed that she was going to have a baby that day. I was home with Mia. Tess called me, came back to get me and some things, and about two and a half hours later we had baby boy. It wasn't as quick as the process with Mia, and I didn't feel so overwhelmed this time around, but this was still definitely not how Tess and I had planned things. Jeremiah weigned in at 5 pounds, 4 ounces, so he's pretty little. He's been on a special blue blanket/pad thing for the past couple days to combat a little jaundice, but we were able to stay in here in Le Mars, and he came home just three days after birth. We are very grateful to God for our healthy baby boy. God has answered many prayers.

We are still praying for growth and development for Jeremiah. He seems to be eating pretty well, but we'll feel better once he puts on a little weight and fits into his diapers better. Lanie and Mia are adjusting to having a little brother, and Tess and I are getting used to being outnumbered. Things are still in flux at the Hofman house, but God is good, and we are beyond happy.

Grace and peace,

BMH

P.S. This post's title comes from Superman the Movie.

#294 Sic 'em!

It's been a crazy few days, so I'm just going to tell a story this week: my favorite story from days running cross country in college. Toward the end of my senior season, I was out running with my friends Kyle, Andy, and Chris. We high-mileage guys were putting in something like eight miles that day, a pretty typical run for us. The first three-quarters of the run went by smoothly. We took a pretty unique route, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. The air was crisp and cool, the leaves were falling, and we cruised along. As we headed back toward campus, we cut through a sort of gated community, racing through backyards. On our left was a high chain-link fence (think little league backstop). Houses were on our right. The end of the community was drawing close: just past a regular wooden privacy fence was the city water tower. With only a few backyards left to go, we heard a voice boom out of one of the houses, "Fido (I have no idea if that's the correct name—it's not important), get 'em!" Adrenaline pumping, we kicked into high gear. Kyle went over the fence. Chris went over the fence. I sprinted up to the fence—and didn't make it over. Andy started freaking out behind me: "HOFMAN!" I cleared the fence with my second attempt. As Andy came over we heard the dog barking. It was some tiny little ankle-biter. All four of us cracked up, practically rolling on the ground. I don't know who that guy was, but he got us. He got us good.

Grace and peace,

BMH