the spirit of man

Ecclesiastes 3:18-22, "I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themeselves are beasts. For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion : for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?"



What a comparison is made by Solomon here. When you look at the surface this seems to be a confusing passage to the believer, but remember Solomon has been talking about the vanity and futility of life without God. Without God, a man's flesh is no different than that of an animal. As a matter of fact elsewhere in the Bible lost men are called bruit beasts as well. Just as an animal is born and dies, men are born and dies, and that would be the end of the story except for the fact of verse 21 in our text. the fact is that the flesh may be the same, but there is a difference in the spirit. the spirit of animals dies and is buried with them, but the spirit that God has placed in man lives on fore all eternity. God has created man different than the animals in this, every man will stand before God in judgment one day. If you are lost, all you have is down here, one day your life will be over and you will stand before God and wish that you were but a beast that had died and was forgotten. However, for the child of God there is a great reward awaiting that we are looking forward to. My life is more than just that of a beast, I have an eternal purpose, because my spirit is some day going up to be with God. I do not know the spirit of man, but I have known, or rather am known of the Spirit of God, and He lives within me. Oh, what a glorious thought, we shall live on. Where will you live?