These sad words have been uttered through the ages after costly failures in the most daring adventures, and most dangerous missions. History is replete with stories of individuals and nations who have risked life and livelihood to reach their goals. e.g. A husband and father might utter this phrase when his failed business venture ends in the loss of his home and savings. A thief may spend months in planning, and invest all of his strength and resources to pull off a job, only to be nabbed in the act. He might be heard saying, as he is helped into the back seat of a police car, “It was all for nothing.”
The truth is that many who succeed in the ventures of this life will get to the end of their love, leisure, and lucrative endeavors, only to find that their celebrated success doesn’t compensate for the years of drudgery that were endured to get there. They will discover that their time on the top of the hill is short lived; their treasures are soon consumed by moths and rust. At the end of life no one maintains their esteemed standing or takes their material gain to the abode of the dead. It Was All For Nothing.
The problem is that most people spend their lives majoring on the minors. They never discover (or always reject) the knowledge that our Creator God has a purpose for their lives through which they can enjoy eternal reward for temporal labor. It begins with a proper introduction to the Almighty. “But as many as received him (Jesus), to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12)”
For those who have established a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, there is a cause worth living for, …or dying for. He tells His children, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:19–21)”