A Time for Everything

Rev. Dustin Beck, pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Warda, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Ecclesiastes 3:1-15.

The poem that Solomon writes at the beginning of Ecclesiastes 3 helps us to see the passing of time from God’s perspective. He appoints a time for all matters of our lives, allowing us to receive everything that happens in this life in view of His fatherly, divine goodness and mercy. God makes everything beautiful in its time, yet by placing eternity into our hearts in a way that we cannot find it out completely, He leads us to find our rest in only in Him. In this way, we can find joy in the lot that God has given us now, for only God’s work endures forever.

“Wisdom for Life Under the Sun” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon’s favorite word in Ecclesiastes paints a bleak picture: “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!” Apart from God, life is nothing but vapor that does not last and can never be grasped. Yet Solomon does not leave us in despair. He shows us that life does have meaning in the faith and fear of God, from whom all things come to us as a gift.