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“What is time?
Friend…
Or Foe?
Teacher…
Or Tyrant?
Ally…
Or Adversary?
Blessing…
Or Curse?
Beginning…
Or end?Yes. Yes, it is.”
Nothing brings to mind the meaning and passing of time quite like the flipping of the calendar. When a new year dawns, I feel mortal and hopeful. I feel the blinding rush of the passing years and the buoyant hope of another chance to get it right.
Living ain’t easy when you’re dyin
Hope floats. That’s what they say.
So does the rubbish of regret and remorse.
It takes intention, effort, and the willingness to forgive yourself and others to scoop up the scum of shattered dreams, broken promises, and utter failure and bury it in the past, where it belongs.
In the gospel of Luke, chapter nine, Jesus tells a man to follow Him (become His disciple). The man says that he will become a follower of Christ but only after he buries his father.
In what sounds like a harsh and perhaps heartless rebuke, Jesus responds, “Let the dead bury their dead. You go and proclaim the gospel.”
Based on what we know about the Jewish culture of the day, it is possible the man’s father was nowhere near death. It is likely the man was arguing that he needed to stick around and keep doing the things he had always done until his father passed. There was an inheritance to consider and all that.
Then, when Dad is gone, he reasoned, he would be freer to follow Christ with fewer encumbrances. He was essentially putting his life and his life’s calling on hold so he could dwell under death’s shadow.
It is impossible to commit to the fullness, freedom, and joy of life when you are dragging around yesterday’s corpse.
Everything changes and nothing ever does.
“Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.”
“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
It is easy to become cynical and fatalistic, isn’t it?
It is easy to think, “Nothing ever changes around here. Same ol’ same ol’. Why bother?”
Ecclesiastes is King Solomon’s pessimistic view of life “under the sun”. That phrase – “under the sun” – recurs again and again in the book, reminding us of Solomon’s chosen viewpoint.
It’s like Solomon is saying to the Lord, “Hey, God, I know what You say about hope and love and all of that, but from down here, things don’t look so good.”
It’s like the author is saying to the reader, “Hey, folks. I get it. The whole thing feels pointless.”
But then you get near the end of the wise king’s little book and the tone begins to lighten somewhat, the clouds clear, and you see where he is going with it…
“Send your grain across the seas,
and in time, profits will flow back to you.
But divide your investments among many places,
for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.
When clouds are heavy, the rains come down.
Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.
Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.
If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.
Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.
Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.
Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.
When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember there will be many dark days. Everything still to come is meaningless.
Young people,d it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. But remember that youth, with a whole life before you, is meaningless.”
Solomon says don’t wait until everything is just right. If you do, you will never do what you meant to do. Kind of sounds like Jesus’ advice to the dude who wanted to hang around and see what happened with Dad, doesn’t it?
Solomon also reminds us not to be too destroyed by failures or thump our chests too much over victory.
“It’s all meaningless,” he says.
I once wrote, “In the grand scheme of things, we have no idea how grand the scheme of things is”
That’s a fact.
“ No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
It’s about time…
Wait! No, it isn’t. It’s about time we realize it’s not about time at all. It’s about eternity. It’s about the grand scheme, the big picture.
How we spend – or, rather, invest – our time matters, even more, when you consider the shortness of your time here and the endlessness of eternity.
That is Solomon’s conclusion in Ecclesiastes, too. He concludes by writing, “Fear God and keep his commandments.”
But what about the failures of 2020 or 2010 or 2000 or…?
King David has the answer to that.
Solomon’s old man could stake his own claim to wisdom. He also indulged more than his share of failures, ranging from adultery to murder by official mandate. He was King David, the man after God’s own heart.
David wrote about and relished the hope of divine forgiveness in Psalm 103:12…
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
So, it’s a new year. Big deal!
Yes! Yes, it is. A new year. And a big deal. Time is a tyrant and a teacher, a foe and a friend, a beginning and an end. Embrace the new day, the new year, the fresh start, the clean slate. Make it yours and make the most of it.
Even in his lamentations, Solomon embraced this kind of hope…
“Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.
They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!
The LORD is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him.”
Happy New Year!
