Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Ecclesiastes 3-4: In His Time

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
Words-adapted from The Bible, book of Ecclesiastes
Music-Pete Seeger

In these two chapters of Ecclesiastes, the Teacher is still repeating the refrain of  'meaningless, meaningless, all is meaningless.'  However, embedded within these verses, he answers his own question. 

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. - Eccl. 3:11 NIV

It is not an endless cycle.  It is not a meaningless existence.  There is a purpose to it all:  to the changing of the seasons, to birth and death, to mourning and dancing.  It is God's purpose.  It may not be what he originally intended for his creation before sin entered into the garden, but it is God's purpose.  We all hold eternity in our hearts, but can't quite grasp it.  So we go through our lives knowing that there is something missing, no matter how successful, or fulfilling our lives are.  But the promise is there...he makes all things beautiful in his time.

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