Ecclesiastes 1:1 “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.”
You may wonder, to what kind of truth can be drawn from the title that Solomon gives himself? It is interesting to see the order of the title in his description.
First and foremost he calls himself the Preacher. He also repeats this title in verse 12. Now I don’t know about you, but if I were a king, I think that is what I would want everyone to know me by. But Solomon realized what many Christians fail to understand. Above any job description that comes before our name ,we are first and foremost a Preacher. You may say, “I’m not a preacher, I’m a young lady”, or “ God hasn’t called me into the ministry.” That is where our thinking is flawed. If you are a Christian, then your life is preaching something. Everywhere you go, every person that you come into contact with, and every situation that you’re involved in, will be preaching some kind of message. Teenager, that is why the authority in your life begs and pleads with you to stay right with God. Because when you do your own thing, your life is preaching to the lost world and to those that are coming up after you- a rebellious, ungodly attitude.
I went to a Christian school from kindergarten to graduation. My only exposure to the public school was the summer that I was 15 and took driver’s education. As you can imagine, it was quite a culture shock to what I was used to. One day after coming out of class, my grandma that was visiting from out of town picked me up. She noticed that I was kind of discouraged, as I began to tell her how everyone mocked and scorned because I was a Christian. I’ll never forget the advice she gave me, “Keep your head up, your life is the only Bible that some people will ever read.” That advice encouraged me, and by God’s grace and a bold witness I was able to lead two of my fellow class mates to Christ. That never would have happened if my life was preaching a rebellious attitude or a passive view of my Savior.
Pastor Jonathan Ryser
White River Baptist Church | Princeton, IN
