In life, important lessons are often learned from mistakes. I expect you have your own personal examples of lessons learned from mistakes, which is why phrases like 'trial and error' are part of our everyday language.

St John's is currently working through the book of Ecclesiastes, part of the 'wisdom literature' in the Old Testament. Much of this is 'the teacher' reflecting on lessons learned from searching in the wrong places for meaning and significance. He emphasises three areas of life, which are surprisingly relevant today too:

Pleasure: many people spend a lot of time/money/energy seeking pleasure in various forms. 'The teacher' even had a harem and denied himself nothing, but found that he was 'chasing after the wind';
Wisdom: sometimes we think knowledge and wisdom are the answers to life's big questions, but education isn't wisdom and the wise like the foolish endure the ups and downs of life and will eventually die;
Hard work: work is a good thing, and part of God's plan for people, but toil can never produce or reveal the real meaning of life.

So much for looking in the wrong places! What's the right place? You won't be surprised to hear me answer 'God'. If you'd like to investigate why Christians think so, I invite you to call me and maybe sign up for our next 'Christianity Explored' course, starting early in October.

Rev David Price (01202 740235)