在第5節上，我們看見一幅圖畫，一個工匠正在一堆廢物中左挑右選；他把不適用的石頭丟棄，將有用的保留。同樣地，在我們的人生中，我們有時也要檢視我們的工作，看看哪些並無價值，而虛度了神給我們的光陰，每天的86,400秒。我們要經常反問自己：我們的時間用得有價值嗎？有永恆的價值呢？抑或是沒有價值？第6節下提出了類似的觀念：保守有時，捨棄有時。

最終在第11節，所羅門開始去看神的作為：「神造萬物，各按其時成為美好。」如果我們能將種種的人生際遇，都能看為神手中的工作，我們的人生態度便會截然不同。當我們相信神在我們身上有祂的計劃，我們便能將自己放在祂的手裡，讓祂按照祂的美好計劃帶領我們。現在就是交托的時候了。

Day 12

A TIME FOR EVERYTHING

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-14

1 To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:

2 A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;

3 A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;

4 A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;

5 A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;

6 A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;

7 A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;

8 A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.
The God-Given Task

9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?

10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,

13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

14 I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.

Message

Here are fourteen remarkable couplets which cover almost every event of life - 28 events in all. In one way they could be taken as fate. On the other hand they can be seen as part of the order, the cosmos, present in this world put there by God Himself.

We use the word “time” almost as much as Solomon did. “Time to get up”, “haven’t got time”, “there’s no time to do anything”, “don’t waste time”, “time’s up”, “full time”, and many more phrases which we constantly use contain this word “time”. We have at least one clock in almost every room in the house. But Solomon picks out some of the great events of life and tells us to think about them.

Some of these couplets have varied applications. e.g. “A time to plant, a time to uproot” can simply mean seedtime and harvest or it can tell us there are times to put down our roots and there are times when it is obvious we should make a new start. We can all look back and see those turning points in our lives.

In verse 5a the picture is of a builder sorting through a pile of rubble, throwing away the stones which are useless for his purpose and keeping those that are. Again there are times when we need to look at what we are doing, how we are using the time God has given us, 86,400 seconds each day. Is the thing we are giving our time to really worthwhile? Will it count for eternity or not? A similar thought is in verse 6 - a time to keep, a time to throw away. Are you a hoarder?

Then in verse 11 Solomon begins to see the hand of God. “He has made everything beautiful (appropriate) in His time.” If we could just see the circumstances of our lives as an unfolding pattern in the hands of God, it would make such a difference to us. As we accept the truth that God has a plan for our lives, we can trust Him to guide us according to His own wonderful plan. Now is the time to do just that.