There is a time to be born and a time to die; those are the two dates on a tombstone. There is a dash between the two dates that represents quite a bit, including many observations of life: there is that which is delightful – to be born, to love, to dance. But there is also the distasteful – to mourn, to die, and war. There is production – to plant, to gather, to build, to sow; but there is also destruction – to tear down, to break down, to scatter, to kill. There is the relational – love, and a time to embrace. There is the emotional – a time to weep, a time to laugh, a time to mourn. There is the new and the novel – time to be born, time to build up. There's the old and the obsolete – to count something as lost, to break down.
There is separation in the occasions of life – a time to cast away, a time of war; but there is also restoration – a time of peace, a time to gather, a time to heal. There is the incidental in life – to count something as lost, or a time to refrain from embracing. There is also the consequential – war, building up, kill, speak; all of these are consequential.
I would like to recommend five truths about life that we can summarize from these observations in Ecclesiastes 3. First, Life is repetitive. Sometimes it can seem like a machine, it just goes on and on, and the same things will continue to happen. But the second truth is, life is limited. In other words, there are natural boundaries to life. There is a time to be born, and there is a time to die. There is a time to build up. There's a time to tear down. Thirdly, life is broken. Ecclesiastes 3:2-8 make very clear is that there is something that is not right. Things are not as they ought to be. Fourth, life is reflective. It reflects personality; it reflects an inherent and absolute sense of morality. It reflects intelligence. It also reflects the absolute because this word time – “for everything there is a season and a time for every matter under the sun” – is used consistently in Scripture as an appointed occasion. That takes us to the fifth truth; when you consider it all, life is hopeful. Meaning this: there is purpose in life. God’s purpose is beautiful because “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end” (Ecc. 3:11). We can observe God’s purpose just enough to evoke wonder. Wonder is beautiful. Let’s not lose our wonder.
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