Four-year-old Asher’s gleeful face peeked out from beneath his favorite hooded sweatshirt. His alligator-head hooded sweatshirt, complete with plush jaws that seemed to swallow his head! His mom’s heart sank. She wanted the family to make a good impression as they visited a family they hadn’t seen in a long time.

四岁的亚瑟知道妈妈要带他出门，就开心地穿上他最喜爱的连帽T恤。T恤的帽子是呲牙咧嘴的鳄鱼头造型，亚瑟的小脸蛋看似被鳄鱼吞噬了！妈妈看了觉得头疼，因她要带亚瑟去拜访好久没联络的朋友，希望亚瑟能让他们留下好印象。

“Oh, Hon,” she said, “that may not be appropriate for the occasion.”

于是，她对儿子说：“宝贝，今天穿这件衣服可能不太好喔！”

“Of course it is!” Asher protested brightly.

亚瑟开心地说：“当然好啊！”

“Hmm, and what occasion might that be?” she asked. Asher replied, “You know. Life!” He got to wear the shirt.

她又问亚瑟说：“哦，你觉得什么时候穿这件衣服最好呢？”亚瑟说：“每天啊，开心的时候啊！”最后，妈妈让他高高兴兴地穿着那件T恤出门了。

That joyful boy already grasps the truth of Ecclesiastes 3:12—“There is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.” Ecclesiastes can seem depressing and is often misunderstood because it’s written from a human perspective, not God’s. The writer, King Solomon, asked, “What do workers gain from their toil?” (v. 9). Yet throughout the book we catch glimpses of hope. Solomon also wrote: “That each of [us] may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all [our] toil—this is the gift of God” (v. 13).

这个快乐的小男孩似乎体现了传道书3章12节的精髓：“人不如时常欢乐，一生享福”（现中修订版）。传道书的论述常被误以为是消极悲观的，因为这本书是以人的角度，而非以上帝的观点来写。一如作者所罗门王问道：“这样看来，做事的人在他的劳碌上有什么益处呢？”（9节）其实在传道书里，我们可以看到盼望。正如所罗门王说：“人人吃喝，在他一切劳碌中享福，这也是上帝的恩赐。”（13节）

We serve a God who gives us good things to enjoy. Everything He does “will endure forever” (v. 14). As we acknowledge Him and follow His loving commands, He infuses our lives with purpose, meaning, and joy. 

我们所服事的上帝，让我们享受各样的美事，“上帝一切所做的都必永存”（14节）。当我们认定祂、遵守祂的诫命，祂就使我们的生活充满盼望、意义和喜乐。

Restore to us childlike joy that appreciates Your good gifts.