There is a time for everything,
A season for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and time to rebuild.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to lose.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak up.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for way and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Turn, Turn. Turn. We think we don’t have time for anything but, actually, there’s a time for everything. Read it again. I love these verses. It’s one of the few Bible passages I have memorized. I can’t read them without singing them. The lyrics were written by Solomon. The melody was written by Peter Seeger. The song was sang by The Byrds.
Again, it’s one of those passages we tend to gloss over without sinking our teeth into them. Think a little about the context. Ecclesiastes is kind of like an autobiography – King Solomon’s. Remember, King Solomon, son of King David? He was the man. He had it all. Money, power, prestige, wisdom, God’s favor. King Solomon was the “it” man 3,000 years ago.
Towards the end of his life, King Solomon gave his life the once-over. Solomon was brutally honest with himself. We can learn from him, the wisest man to live. He flipped through the pages of his life like he was flipping through a catalog, looking for the meaning here on earth. Solomon’s scrutiny of his life revealed, in his words, that life was empty and “meaningless.” Way meaningless as he mentioned it thirty four times. Do you wonder how King Solomon, of all people, someone who had everything, could come to that conclusion? Meaningless. I glance at my life. Does it have meaning? Not, is it full, of course it is, it’s jam packed. But, is it meaningful? I glance away.
Solomon found that wisdom, pleasure, work, political power, wealth, possession, all the things we let consume us are, in the end, are meaningless. Believe it or not the Rolling Stones did too:
I can’t get no satisfaction, I can’t get no satisfaction
‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no
Why is that?
God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart…Ecclesiastes 3:11
There it is. He has planted eternity in the human heart. Roll that around a bit. Because we are eternal creatures, we will never be satisfied in the temporal, in this world. All of this temporal life, every changing season, everything for a time, must be seen in the light of eternity.
Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
Solomon found that what really makes life meaningful. All the things under heaven must be under the authority of the God above. Life is filled with meaning only when we know God and following His commands, His Word. Eternal life cannot be found in the temporal, only in Him.