Monday, June 3, 2024  

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Today's Scripture
Ecclesiastes 3:1–15

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 throw 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 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 hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. What gain have the workers from their toil? I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with.

He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already is; and God seeks out what has gone by. (NRSV)

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Reflection

This passage is for the Byrds. That is the folk-rock group whose musical interpretation of this biblical wisdom often springs to mind. Recognize it? To everything, turn, turn, turn. There is a season turn, turn, turn. (The Byrds’ 1965 recording is the No. 1. Hit with the oldest lyrics.)

As the verses pertain to the seasons of life, I often find myself humming Pete Seeger’s melody. And while Ecclesiastes can be viewed as profoundly positive or pessimistic, these passages to me are life-affirming. They illuminate a simple conviction: Whatever God has in store for me has purpose.

With that certainty, I increasingly grapple with how to contribute best before my seasons conclude. Do you think of that, too? What I invariably decide is that I must strive to devote my further seasons to being useful. To my beloved immediate family. To my treasured Fourth Church community. To our broader universe of countless people who need prayers and actions to improve their own personal circumstances.

I fall short far too often. Yet while life doesn’t always make sense, I rejoice in the certainty that God accompanies me every step of the way in every season.

To capture or recapture the Byrds’ rendition of “Turn! Turn! Turn!,” please click on this link.

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Prayer
Our heavenly Father and Redeemer, as the source of our time on earth, grant us the wisdom and joy to appreciate that you walk with us “for every matter under heaven.” Help us make the most of whatever season it is and to use that time in ways that honor our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Written by Tim Schellhardt, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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