Ecclesiastes 3

With this chapter lets start in the middle.
Verse 9-11: "What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time." (NIV)

The burden here is our toil, or work. We read in Chapter 2 that we should enjoy our work. We talked about a gift from God being the ability to use our gifts for our vocation. This is no different. Because the author remindsd us that God made everything beautiful in it's time. That's kind of important. Not in our time but God's.
It's hard sometimes to see the point of the path we are on. This life is truly a journey. It is a journey from here to there....from birth to a second birth. In the thick of it sometimes I can't see that though. It feels like a lot of running around for no gain.

Verse 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 men will revere him." (NIV)

This is our journey to do with as we wish. That is the gift of free will. However, verse 14 seems to suggest that God's purpose is fulfilled in our journey with whatever we choose. We choose our path but not God's plan. As I write that I imagine what life would look like if our collective journey was in line with God's purpose. I think that's the idea. We have free will to choose and if we choose to follow the Father things work out much better. We grease the machine...so to speak.

This takes me back to the first eight verses in this chapter. The "everything" section. Every time I read those verses I hear, "To everything turn, turn, turn. There is a season turn..." great song. Great verses.
This section is a profound dichotomy. The yin and yang if you will. On this hand we have one thing and on the other hand another thing. We struggle today to be grey. Ever heard that? "It's a grey area." NO! Anything but grey! Get me far away from that place. I leased a place in the land of blah. Didn't like it.
Life is lived in the differences. Wisdom is gained from understanding this and that. But it is important to realize different is good. Not for the sake of being different but for the sake of being you. Feel, live, laugh, cry...just do it from the core.
That's what I get when I read those verses. God has created everything and every emotion. That says to me that everything is valid and from God in it's time.
So today I pray for you a rich journey with brilliant colors.

Gods Speed,Greg