“To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which 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 cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, 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 of war, and a time of peace.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Okay, first question: Do we know the purpose of our own lives on this planet? If we cannot answer that question, then how can we know the purposes of God for all of mankind and ultimately for our own lives? The writer of the words above was struggling with, as can be seen throughout the rest of the letter, the same question.
He does break it down to a few things starting with the fact that there is a season and time for every purpose. Let me describe it this way: the process of planting a garden involves a certain season. Within that season there are certain times in which we prepare the soil, plant, and then harvest, which is the second thing he points out.
Our life’s season starts at birth and then ends in death, but within that season there are segments of time in which we experience various events that require a variety of responses. The struggle this writer was endeavoring to make sense of, does lead him to an answer.
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14