Responding to the Season

“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 a time to dance; a time to cast 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 cast 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.”

 (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ESV)

With the new year upon us, one of the things that we naturally consider is time. We often note how quickly the time passes. We note that, the older we get, the faster time seems to go. And, for this reason, we are bent on managing our time well. We’re consumed with controlling the time that we have.

The passage, above, is a familiar one for most of us. It’s familiar because we often hear it read at funerals. It’s often chosen because of its reference to death and a time to die. But, at the very least, we know this passage from the famous song by the Byrds, Turn, Turn, Turn.

The point of this passage, however, is something we need desperately to take to heart. It’s something we tend to miss.  But it’s something we see clearly as we stop and consider the individual phrases being used.

There is a time to be born and a time to die. Yet, both of these times are outside of our control. We have no choice in the time of our birth. We have no choice in birth itself. And, in the same way, we have no control over death.

There is a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted. But, again, both of these times are outside of our control. Farmers plant when the time is right, when the conditions are right. And they harvest when the proper time comes.

There is a time to kill and a time to heal. Now killing, of course, is not something we should desire. But there are times when it’s necessary. Perhaps it’s when we must engage in a just war. Perhaps it’s when government authorities are punishing a doer of evil. Or perhaps it’s when our home is violated and our loved ones are threatened. These circumstances are outside of our control, but they do come. And, in the same way, so do opportunities to heal.

We can go through these verses line by line and see the same truth. There are times and seasons of life that come upon us. And they are outside of our control. They are ordained, they are determined, by God alone.

We must recognize this fact. We must recognize that we can do nothing to alter the times and seasons. And, for this reason, we must stop fighting them.

We must recognize that the only thing we can do is act when it’s appropriate. The only thing we can do is respond to the season in the appropriate way. We can plant when it’s time to plant. We can mourn when it’s time to mourn. We can keep silence when it’s time to do so, and speak when it’s appropriate.

Many of us struggle with our desire to control. But when we receive this Word, when we take it to heart, it’s quite liberating. It’s liberating as we recognize our limits, as we recognize and submit to the will of God, and act in the appropriate way at the appropriate time.