Eternity in Our Hearts
10/11/09
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
Pastor Greg Smith
There are times in your life when you become very aware of the passing of time. Time goes by relentlessly, like breathing, there are moments when the passing of time seem more significant. The wedding weekend was one of those times. Commitments were made and celebrated. It felt like a genuine turning point in time. Having so many family and friends together only reinforced this.
There are times when we are all very aware of the passing of time. Some moments in time seem more significant than others. Every new years is like that.
For you who are old enough to remember, 10 years ago this coming new years was a time of great anxiety.
Do you remember why? The “Y2K” computer bug fears!
The great fear was that computers all over the world were going to crash, all because they weren't be able to tell the difference between “January 1, 2000,” and “January 1, 1900.” The way computer code was originally written, programmers neglected to prepare for the change to a new century.
So, what would happen? There were lots of opinions going around. Some people were sure that we all needed to stockpile the basic essentials: canned food; water; gasoline; even cash because it was feared that ATM’s would quit working. There was even big run on electrical generators as January 1, 2000 approached.
Other people believed that the real problem would be the shortages caused by people’s fears. And most every communication from the electric company and the bank included some statement trying to ensure people that they, at least, had the millennium bugs worked out of their computer systems.
So, as the turn of the millennium came, there was rising collective anxiety and fear that some great calamity would befall the world. Some even thought that Jesus' return was immanent.
Some moments in time seem more significant than others.
The picture of time in Ecclesiastes 3 stands in sharp contrast to all that.
Here we see the passage of time as something very methodical, as if the times and seasons were already determined by God. There is nothing new or unexpected here. The passage of time and the events that occur are very much under God's control.
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
The awareness of time’s passing is part of what it means to be human.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has “set eternity in the human heart.” By that is meant that we human beings know that we live in time. We know there is a past and there is a future. We know that the world was already here before we were born and became conscious. And we know that there is a future that is coming: the clock ticks off the seconds, minutes, days and years.
It’s one of the ways that we are different from the animals. They live from moment to moment.
But with the wonder of having “eternity” in our hearts, there are puzzles and problems. That is part of what verse 10 refers to as “the burden God has laid on the human race.” And there is no one who has felt the burden more than the author of Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes is very different from other books in the Bible. The writer of Ecclesiastes seems to suffer from what you might call burnout. God had given the writer great wisdom. But the wisdom he had gained didn’t seem to answer the longings of his heart.
Burnout comes through a loss of meaning. Things that were once meaningful aren’t any longer. Life feels stale, routine, and cold.
Even with all his wisdom, the questions raised by the writer of Ecclesiastes need the powerful answers that are only given in the New Testament.
Question: We are aware of the passing of time, but what does it all mean?
Look at verse 11.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet people cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
God has made everything with a purpose: “everything beautiful in its time.” Life fits together. But here is the problem: we can’t see “everything” from God’s point of view. We “cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” We don’t know what it all means.
I remember the year our family (actually Marie more than anyone else) really got into jig-saw puzzles, and then finally a 3-D puzzle of a house:
Some parts were very clear.
Other parts looked like half the others.
It took forever to see how they fit together.
We need Jesus to see how our lives fit together! Ephesians 1:9-10 in the New Living Translation .
9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.
Another scripture comes to mind: Revelation 5:1-6.
1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center before the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.
We are aware of the passing of time, but what does it all mean?Jesus is the answer! Jesus is the key piece that makes the rest of the puzzle all fit together. The writer of Ecclesiastes could not have known this. It is a "mystery revealed."
Question: We are in this stream of time, but do my personal choices have any real meaning?
That seems to be the question implied by verses Ecclesiastes 3:12 and 13:
12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil —this is the gift of God.
That is great, as far as it goes. But so much of our lives seem set and beyond our control. That is part of the message of those very beautiful verses 1-8.
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die …
When you look at the list of activities in verses 1-8, you might begin to wonder if even what we think of as evil has its time. After all, there is "a time to love" but also "a time to hate." Do my moral and ethical decisions make any real difference? Are the times and seasons all pre-determined anyway?
There is a time, there is a season for everything, but like our birth and our death, it seems like we do not have the freedom to choose. Do you ever feel like things seem to happen to you, instead you making things happen?
In the face of all this lack of control, what guidance does the writer of Ecclesiastes give?
First, live before God with humility.
14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will revere him.
We need to know our limits— and it is good! We don’t have to be God. There is only One who has ultimate control, and “God does it so that people will revere him.”
But secondly, live before God with a clear sense of responsibility. Look at verse 15.
15 Whatever is has already been,
and what will be has been before;
and God will call the past to account.
“God will call the past to account.” That means we will be held accountable for our lives. We don’t know what our future holds, except that one day we will be before God facing his judgement for our choices.
That's like what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:10.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
So again, we have to turn to the New Testament to discover truths that the writer of Ecclesiastes could not know.
We have something that the writer of Ecclesiastes could not experience. We have been given the key to trusting that the future that is in God’s hands.
Without Jesus, facing an uncertain future could lead to despair. But with Jesus we live in hope as we face a certain future.
Three wonderful scriptures make this truth very clear.
First, Romans 8:15-17 tells us that we face the future, including God’s judgement, with a deep sense of trust instead of fear.
15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Secondly, 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 tells us God's good intentions for us.
9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Thirdly, 1 Peter 1:3-5 teaches us about a hope that will never fade.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
The writer of Ecclesiastes was burnt out. Even his best wisdom felt old and stale.
In contrast, we can face the future knowing that Jesus is the answer to our heart's deepest questions and longings. We can face the future with confidence!
And we know that every moment is significant in God’s time. This is the time of decision. This is the day for commitments.
Pastor Greg Smith
There are times in your life when you become very aware of the passing of time. Time goes by relentlessly, like breathing, there are moments when the passing of time seem more significant. The wedding weekend was one of those times. Commitments were made and celebrated. It felt like a genuine turning point in time. Having so many family and friends together only reinforced this.
There are times when we are all very aware of the passing of time. Some moments in time seem more significant than others. Every new years is like that.
For you who are old enough to remember, 10 years ago this coming new years was a time of great anxiety.
Do you remember why? The “Y2K” computer bug fears!
The great fear was that computers all over the world were going to crash, all because they weren't be able to tell the difference between “January 1, 2000,” and “January 1, 1900.” The way computer code was originally written, programmers neglected to prepare for the change to a new century.
So, what would happen? There were lots of opinions going around. Some people were sure that we all needed to stockpile the basic essentials: canned food; water; gasoline; even cash because it was feared that ATM’s would quit working. There was even big run on electrical generators as January 1, 2000 approached.
Other people believed that the real problem would be the shortages caused by people’s fears. And most every communication from the electric company and the bank included some statement trying to ensure people that they, at least, had the millennium bugs worked out of their computer systems.
So, as the turn of the millennium came, there was rising collective anxiety and fear that some great calamity would befall the world. Some even thought that Jesus' return was immanent.
Some moments in time seem more significant than others.
The picture of time in Ecclesiastes 3 stands in sharp contrast to all that.
Here we see the passage of time as something very methodical, as if the times and seasons were already determined by God. There is nothing new or unexpected here. The passage of time and the events that occur are very much under God's control.
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
The awareness of time’s passing is part of what it means to be human.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has “set eternity in the human heart.” By that is meant that we human beings know that we live in time. We know there is a past and there is a future. We know that the world was already here before we were born and became conscious. And we know that there is a future that is coming: the clock ticks off the seconds, minutes, days and years.
It’s one of the ways that we are different from the animals. They live from moment to moment.
But with the wonder of having “eternity” in our hearts, there are puzzles and problems. That is part of what verse 10 refers to as “the burden God has laid on the human race.” And there is no one who has felt the burden more than the author of Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes is very different from other books in the Bible. The writer of Ecclesiastes seems to suffer from what you might call burnout. God had given the writer great wisdom. But the wisdom he had gained didn’t seem to answer the longings of his heart.
Burnout comes through a loss of meaning. Things that were once meaningful aren’t any longer. Life feels stale, routine, and cold.
Even with all his wisdom, the questions raised by the writer of Ecclesiastes need the powerful answers that are only given in the New Testament.
Question: We are aware of the passing of time, but what does it all mean?
Look at verse 11.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet people cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
God has made everything with a purpose: “everything beautiful in its time.” Life fits together. But here is the problem: we can’t see “everything” from God’s point of view. We “cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” We don’t know what it all means.
I remember the year our family (actually Marie more than anyone else) really got into jig-saw puzzles, and then finally a 3-D puzzle of a house:
Some parts were very clear.
Other parts looked like half the others.
It took forever to see how they fit together.
We need Jesus to see how our lives fit together! Ephesians 1:9-10 in the New Living Translation .
9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.
Another scripture comes to mind: Revelation 5:1-6.
1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center before the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.
We are aware of the passing of time, but what does it all mean?Jesus is the answer! Jesus is the key piece that makes the rest of the puzzle all fit together. The writer of Ecclesiastes could not have known this. It is a "mystery revealed."
Question: We are in this stream of time, but do my personal choices have any real meaning?
That seems to be the question implied by verses Ecclesiastes 3:12 and 13:
12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil —this is the gift of God.
That is great, as far as it goes. But so much of our lives seem set and beyond our control. That is part of the message of those very beautiful verses 1-8.
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die …
When you look at the list of activities in verses 1-8, you might begin to wonder if even what we think of as evil has its time. After all, there is "a time to love" but also "a time to hate." Do my moral and ethical decisions make any real difference? Are the times and seasons all pre-determined anyway?
There is a time, there is a season for everything, but like our birth and our death, it seems like we do not have the freedom to choose. Do you ever feel like things seem to happen to you, instead you making things happen?
In the face of all this lack of control, what guidance does the writer of Ecclesiastes give?
First, live before God with humility.
14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will revere him.
We need to know our limits— and it is good! We don’t have to be God. There is only One who has ultimate control, and “God does it so that people will revere him.”
But secondly, live before God with a clear sense of responsibility. Look at verse 15.
15 Whatever is has already been,
and what will be has been before;
and God will call the past to account.
“God will call the past to account.” That means we will be held accountable for our lives. We don’t know what our future holds, except that one day we will be before God facing his judgement for our choices.
That's like what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:10.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
So again, we have to turn to the New Testament to discover truths that the writer of Ecclesiastes could not know.
We have something that the writer of Ecclesiastes could not experience. We have been given the key to trusting that the future that is in God’s hands.
Without Jesus, facing an uncertain future could lead to despair. But with Jesus we live in hope as we face a certain future.
Three wonderful scriptures make this truth very clear.
First, Romans 8:15-17 tells us that we face the future, including God’s judgement, with a deep sense of trust instead of fear.
15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Secondly, 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 tells us God's good intentions for us.
9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Thirdly, 1 Peter 1:3-5 teaches us about a hope that will never fade.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
The writer of Ecclesiastes was burnt out. Even his best wisdom felt old and stale.
In contrast, we can face the future knowing that Jesus is the answer to our heart's deepest questions and longings. We can face the future with confidence!
And we know that every moment is significant in God’s time. This is the time of decision. This is the day for commitments.