1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— 2 A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4 A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. 5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. 6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace. – Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
I’ve been contemplating the seasons recently. Perhaps it has to do with watching the Siberian winter arrive in Novosibirsk, or lamenting the loss of good motorcycle weather here in the Northwest. Or, perhaps it’s something more. Change is part of life. Seasons are part of God’s appointed order of things. We don’t always like it, but its just the way it is.
In each one of these lines Solomon observes that there is a time of loss or destruction -this is only a result of sin in this world and these “times” will one day be replaced by a grand and complete healing. Until that day, let us work hard at the healing, the mending, laughing, and loving.
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