Happy New Year!

January 1, 2021

 

As we turn the page on 2020 and enter 2021 we reflect on the passing of time. For some, it’s a time to end old things and start new things. We make New Year’s resolutions, some stick while others do not.

 

It’s is believed that Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon. It reads like the ranting of someone who is either depressed or insane, at points. Let’s take a peek at Solomon’s take on the passing of time and its meaning. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” [Ecclesiastes 3:1 ESV]

 

A season requires the correct circumstances and conditions. Generally we think of “seasons” in context to the earth rotating around the sun. In the context I am in, at the moment, we have winter, spring, summer, and fall. Each season has its own characteristics. In winter, it is cold and the rain freezes into snowflakes before it arrives on the ground. Spring time is a time for thawing and plants springing back to life. Summers are warm, while in the Fall we enjoy a multiplications of color from the trees. Each season can be very beautiful in its own way.

 

“A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.” [Ecclesiastes 3:2 NLT] These are two images of beginning and end. Solomon flips the emotional scripts. Born is a time of joy, while planting can be a difficult time filled with fear. Dying is a time of sorrow, while harvesting is a time of joy when the harvest is good.

 

“A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up.” [Ecclesiastes 3:3 NLT] This pair seems to reflect each other. Killing and tearing down are destructive events. Healing and building up are encouraging events. Notice how healing and building up require investing energy, while killing and tearing down remove energy.

 

“A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.” [Ecclesiastes 3:4 NLT] While crying and laughing are contrasted, crying and grieving go together. Laughing and dancing are expressions of happiness, even joy.

 

“A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away.” [Ecclesiastes 3:5 NLT] The contrasts are self-evident. I think the effort of moving stones reflects the effort necessary for relationships, both embracing and avoiding embracing. Kind of sounds like 2020.

 

“A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away.” [Ecclesiastes 3:5 NLT] These two pairs stand in opposition to each other. Searching for something we don’t have, as opposed to keeping something we do have. Stop searching for something we do not have, as opposed to throwing away what we have.

 

“A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak.” [Ecclesiastes 3:7 NLT] I wonder if Solomon is saying we can tear or mend depending on if we are quiet or speak up. Sometimes silence does more damage than speaking. Other times, speaking becomes a forest fire of destruction.

 

“A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.” [Ecclesiastes 3:8 NLT] Again, love and war seem to be opposed to each other. Some would suggest love is the cure for war. Hatred does not lend well to peace.

 

Seasons are circumstances and conditions. 2020 felt like a time of death, 2021 will not start any better. But where there is the darkness, there is potential for a change to the positive. Marking the passing of time generates hope. Hope generates circumstances and conditions. Don’t waste the opportunity.