Do You Have the Time?
Time. To most of us, it’s a precious, but frustratingly elusive commodity. We never seem to have enough of it, and yet we find ourselves wasting it. We’d like to manage it better, to feel that we use it well and productively, that we make our time — the time each of us is given in our earthly lives — count for something. Clocks and calendars can become tyrannical, as we feel it’s important, even necessary, to be able to quantify and measure what and how we make use of every hour of every day. It’s exhausting!
If we’re looking for some perspective on time, the best source could well be the wonderful, poetic verses of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. King Solomon, known as the wisest of Israel’s kings, is given attribution as the author of this short book in the Old Testament. At the time of this writing, Solomon is in his later years, reflective and philosophical, and yet, fortunately for us, his wisdom is as fresh and relevant today as it was centuries ago.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
Continuing through Ecclesiastes, readers are advised to live each day as it comes, and not let worry about the future take away their ability to enjoy and appreciate the present. We can’t relive (or re-do) the past, nor do we have knowledge of what the future holds. God’s word provides guidance and assurance for every one of us that we are in his care at all times — birth and death, weeping and laughing, breaking down or building up — all times are God’s times.
Jesus brought Solomon’s wisdom to his disciples when they were anxious about where they would sleep,what they would eat, and what was ahead for them. He pointed out the birds for whom God provided food and shelter, the lilies in the fields that were beautifully “clothed” and reminded them that, as God’s children, they, too, would be in God’s care.
These words of wisdom and the reassurance of God’s faithfulness resonate with 21st century Christians, and it becomes clear that in any age, the joys and sorrows of people and the timeless, endless love of God are unchanged.
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers