This past weekend I attended a funeral and a wedding on the same day. Three separate families were greatly impacted by life and its circumstances. I was reminded of the phrase, “life goes on.” I was also reminded of Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8.
“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck 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; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw 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 ate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” (NKJV)
As I read that scripture, I reflect on our recent pandemic, our recent pastor search, and our current church family. We have a spent a large portion of the last year “refraining from embracing.” Many hugs have been lost due to the pandemic and lots of people have suffered because of a lack of human interaction. However, we have loved people through giving of time and resources even when we couldn’t hug them. We have mourned the passing of numerous church family members and we have seen church family members and extended family rejoice over the birth of newborns. CWBC
experienced the resignation of a devoted pastor and then gained a new pastor in view of a call. We have seen hearts heal and we are just now beginning to see the building up of a new era for Country Woods Baptist Church.
I’m an English major by trade, and I love to look at the meaning of words. Look at what the following three words mean in Hebrew:
a. “season” – a set time, appointed time
b. “time” – time (of an event), experiences, fortunes, occasion, occurrence
c. “purpose” – delight, pleasure, desire, longing, the good pleasure, that in which one takes delight
These word meanings are very interesting to me. If we think about the first sentence of this Scripture according to what the words mean, it might read like this: To everything there is an appointed time, an experience for every delight under heaven. I can find the delight in the wedding I attended this past weekend, but the funeral, not so much. I have to point out that the word “purpose” found in Ecclesiastes 3:1 is a masculine noun. Stay with me here for just a second. If “purpose” is a noun then its meaning is also a person, place or thing. It’s not that I “delight” (action verb) in everything I experience. It is the fact that every experience IS a delight because it is a moment in time God has allowed me to be a part of. It’s a moment in time God has allowed me to depend on Him. It’s a moment in time God appointed to draw me closer to Him. It’s a moment in time God provided for me in some way. It’s a moment in time God has chosen to teach me something. It’s a moment in time God knew what was going to happen and gave me the love, grace, and mercy I needed to go through that season of life.
We all have experienced one or more of the seasons of life Ecclesiastes addresses. We are all going through a season of life at this moment. What was true in the past is still true today. God was there; God is still here. Although I don’t know what season you are currently in, I do know seasons come and go. Some seasons seem to drag on forever; some seem to pass all too quickly; some seasons we planned for; and others we would have never wished on our last enemy.
The good news is that Jesus knows all of our seasons. He knew we would go through them. He knew how we would respond to them. He knew how He would use those seasons in our life to grow us and shape us and mold us. He knew and knows Country Woods Baptist Church and every single person who walks through and will walk through our doors.
OH, church family, we never could have predicted the last 12 months of life and I won’t pretend that any of us know what the next 12 months of life will look like. None of us can explain all the “why” and “how” or “when” and “where” of life, but what we do know is that we serve a living Savior who can carry us through all seasons of life. “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 (CSB)
LIFE GOES ON!
0 Comments