Keeping the bird feeders in our back yard filled has become almost a daily ritual. The enjoyment we receive from watching the birds more than compensates for the time and expense. In a strange sort of way, it resonates with the message found in Matthew's gospel:" Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
As I've said many times, I like songs that tell a story. Do you remember the song "Turn! Turn! Turn!" The year was 1965 – The voice was that of the Byrds – five guys with a bent for sharing a story through song.
In May of that year, I graduated from high school. I landed a great summer job, and I was then off to college in the fall. Before year's end, the sound of "Turn! Turn! Turn!" resonated with things happening in my life. Life just got better and better.
The song is an adaptation of Ecclesiastes 3. Most of the words come directly from Scripture. It was Solomon, who from the vantage point of experience and reflection, insightfully wrote: "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens". You can find the song at this link:
Solomon wrote: "Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness."
Solomon references some things we don't typically talk about in church.
He shares some things in his book that are not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture; but he says these things because his transparency spills over into the things universally everyone is thinking about. With a sense of transparency, he recounts the good, the bad and the ugly. It is a sheer honest appraisal of what worked and what didn't work.
Broken people have the capacity to make a mess of things. We've been given the resources needed for life and we don't always appropriate and use it wisely. The passage says there is a time for all kinds of stuff including stuff that doesn't work in our best interest.
It is interesting that we manage our time in a way that we focus on what is important to us. Our priorities may not be the priorities of God. Our utilization of time may not reflect the heart and love of God.
There are two forces at work in our world and we see evidence of destructive behavior on a daily basis. We also live in an environment of troubled waters. Hurricane Beryl is expected to slam against the Texas coast early Monday morning. I suspect that folks will be evacuating their homes and Beryl will cause imminent flooding and destruction.
The year 2024 is slightly over half gone. These are tough times. I don't need to articulate for you the many areas of our lives where things seemingly are out-of-control. Both as a nation and individually, we are facing problems that are debilitating and seemingly unsolvable?
The majority of our country is preoccupied with the coming Presidential election. Most folks have a strong opinion. Each side predicts that if their candidate doesn't win, the American dream will be forever forfeited for an unending nightmare.
In honest transparency, Solomon highlights that life isn't easy. We, like Solomon, are confronted with a host of choices on a daily basis and often the things we appropriate are not from God. Paul even said of himself, I am chief among sinners.
The back and forth way that Paul speaks illustrates this inward conflict when he says, "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate... For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. [Romans 7:15]
And even so, how many times in our own life can we identify with the inconsistency and failure to be true to our calling as the children of God? We seek to be faithful, but at the end of the day we miss the mark.
Solomon begins with the affirmation: "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens". When it comes to time, I guess we are all on a level playing field with 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours a day. In our human frailty, we sometimes get timing out of sequence and it creates awkward moments.
Based on observation - There are people whom I suspect were born late and have never been on time to an event in their life – On the other end of the spectrum, there are people who think they are late if they come only thirty minutes early.
How many of us really enjoy a life that is multi-dimensional? I know people who work all of the time. How about you? How many people do you know that lead a balanced life?
Solomon writes that there is a time for everything. How well do we balance our walk with the Lord, our family commitments, or even our work for that matter? - some of us cheat sleep and never get caught up on our rest.
Solomon's says there, "is a time to be born and a time to die." Sometimes it would be nice if we could slow the hands of the clock and afford ourselves more time or make different choices.
All My Best!
Don
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