INTRODUCTION
A. As
a child I was convinced that God had a remote-control he would use to play my
life in slow motion during school hours. After school he would use the same
remote to play my life in fast-forward. I remember sitting at my desk in
elementary school, trying to figure out if time would move as fast as I
counted. To me, counting to sixty made a minute, so I figured if I counted to
sixty “mississippilessly” (cue laughter of FRIENDS fans) and rather speedily,
then a minute would be faster. Then, my 2nd grade brain realized
that if I counted to 60 time 60 really fast, a whole hour of school would be
done faster. I thought that I had
figured out how to “steal” God’s remote control. Well, after counting to sixty10
times, I couldn’t count higher because I was out of fingers to use
to keep track of how many minutes I sped up. Also my teacher reminded me that I could not go to recess until finishing my science work.
B. As
an adult recalling this event in my life, I probably do not remember the event
completely accurately, but I remember the feeling of outsmarting
God. I had figured out a loophole to the timeline he has already been in, is
present in, and will be in. I am ashamed to say that as an adult, I probably
too often long for that feeling. I desire the control, the power, the action;
I want to have my will be done instead of participating in the will of the
Father. However, in the action of “speeding up time” or making life fall into
my timeline, I miss a very important
aspect of God: His timing. Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 is a passage completely
centered on the timeline created and instated by God. It is the “Circle of
Life.”
BODY
A. Verses
1-8 of today’s reading cover the different times of activities set in motion by
the Creator.
1. In this portion, the author claims: “There is a time for everything, and a
season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to
die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a
time to tear down and a time to build up, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a
time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to
gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to
search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time
to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to
love and a time to hare, a time for war and a time for peace.” (NIV)
2. God’s timing is a complex matter,
and it does not seem like the seasons he placed in existence are accurate
portrayals of his ascribed Characteristics. After all as Ed Young said “we can
have whatever kind of God we want. All we have to do is invent him.”[1] In
America we constantly are inventing the God that is most beneficial to our
timelines. If we were to poll Christians who do not often study the scriptures
with the question: “does God prescribe a time for destruction, mourning,
killing, giving up, hate, and war?” I am pretty confident that the majority
would say “of course not, God is love and these things are not loving.”
a. So
often, we project the traits of Genie from Aladdin or Santa Clause onto God
assuming he is all love, kindness, and generosity. We assume that our
perception of “good” is the same as His, which leads to great confusion when
times of drought and wanting reach our lives. Projection of our assumptions
onto what is, generally has negative consequences.
b. Assumptions
are made when there is a lack of knowledge involved in life. Everyone assumes that
they “know best” however, mankind’s knowledge is very lacking.[2]
Humans do not know the extent of God’s character. Though he is love, there are
plenty examples of His causing destruction.
c. People
do not realize the complexity of the Old Testament God. The God who inspired
these writings, the God who claims there is a time for killing and destruction
is the same God who inspired the New Testament. He is the same God Christians
worship today.
d. Because
this incomprehensible God set these “times of” into place, they must have
meaning. Throughout scripture it can be seen that there are periods of both
good and bad in the lives of the heroes. And even though the trials make life
hard, they generally bring out growth and better character. Which is why God’s
timing is perfect.
B. The
second part of the reading is verses 9-15. This passage discusses the beauty of
God’s timing and his plan. It is an attempt to explain and define the poem
through prose.[3]
1. Unlike
the first reading, this selection is prose. In it the author says: “What do
workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human
race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity on
man’s heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I
know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good
while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in
all their toil –this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will
endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does
it so that people will fear him. Whatever is has already been, and what will be
has been before; and God will call the past to account.” (NIV)
2. God’s timing is forever.
No one can change God’s timeline except for God. Man cannot comprehend the
timeline of God, they cannot add to it or remove anything from it. In this
portion “God deals exclusively in forever
and flawless.”[4]
a. When
men have ideas, they are not original, they have been said before, just in a
different way. I mean, every sermon of truth preached by this point is a
repeat. It may have a different anecdote, but the main points are going to be
recycled. Other men can add to or remove from these ideals and teachings. But
when God speaks, it stays the same. Others cannot put words into God’s mouth.
One cannot use God’s remote control.
b. Because
God is perfect, everything he does is perfect. There is no margin of era as
there is for mere mortals.
CONCLUSION
Life
runs in a circle. This fact has been observed for quite some time and even has
a song about its habit. God instated this circle, a wisdom writer penned a poem
about it. It is common knowledge that there is a time for birth and death,
growth and decay, examples are found all over creation by open eyes. This week,
as you live in your circling habits, I challenge you to see the good in the
bad, see the joy through the pain, turn tears of mourning into laughter, and
rely on the timing of Him who is forever and flawless. It is a hard thing to do, but it is a part of
the cycle that is extremely productive in producing fruits in the community.
[1] Ed
Young, “Been There. Done That. Now What?” (Broadman & Holman Publishing.
1994) 116.
[2]
Douglas Miller, “Symbol and Rhetoric in Ecclesiastes” (Leiden: Brill, 2002)
113-114.
[3]
Tremper Longman, “The Book of Ecclesiastes” (Eerdmans Publishing Company: Grand
Rapids. 1998) 118
[4]
David Jeremiah, “Searching for Heaven on Earth” (Brentwood, Tenn; Integrity
Publishers, 2004) 70.
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