- a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; -
Okay, remember last week’s post? We’ve established a way we are going to think through these next group of verses.
They are not only fate, but also a call to awareness of God’s works in our lives and to act in concert with them.
The line here is thin, but the approach is different. It is “God has done this” versus “God, I submit to your will.”
The first section refers to our birth and death.
Our birth comes upon us with no consciousness. We are nothing, and then we are. Consciousness, as it appears to us, isn’t even granted to us at this point.
Who then can act wisely in regards to a birth? Right, the parents.
Well, think of all the ways that can go wrong. Perhaps it’s a pregnancy outside of your marriage. Perhaps it’s a pregnancy to repair your marriage.
Do any of these sound like the proper time?
When is the right time to have a child?
In the midst of a loving marriage where both parents want to attend to the child’s needs.
Well, birth can be orchestrated by God, but what spirit does God demand of you to have a child in? That can only be gained by surrender.
Now death can come in its appointed hour, old age, or suddenly through disease, accident, or premature failures in your body such as a heart attack.
Sometimes you have consciousness through these moments in your life. That can be a blessing or a curse, and most of that is dependent on your behavior.
In your terrible sickness, do you spill hatred and shake your fist at the divine, even if all you attack and belittle are those around you?
Or rather do you stare into the beyond, grow stronger from it, and speak truth and gratitude to your family before taken to your heavenly home?
Which spirit is love?
Your family can engage in the same vengeful or hopeful behavior, and its relevance can greatly depend on the sufferer’s conscious state.
A hospital bed can be one of hope or despair, despite it ending in the same way.
The plant is similar to life. It has no control over when it is planted or when it is harvested. It is the farmer who must do it according to a purpose.
Perhaps for our own lives, it means, “There are times when work must be invested for a future reward, and in due time harvested.”
Don’t let large tasks God has called you to keep you from sacrificing time today. When it comes time to harvest, pick it when it’s ready, not before it matures or when it begins to rot.
That time is known by praying without ceasing.
Now, all these events could be considered appointed by God. They can all be missed or ruined if we do not carefully submit our will to His.
If you know birth and death are a part of life, how are you to act within them? What does God require of you in those moments?
How are you preparing for future harvests? Are you participating in the cultivating of souls, disciples, and family?
Remember, these verses are not just telling us these events will come. They are impositions to live morally through them and not bring them about in an unappointed time.
May we always find the strength to lean not on our own understanding.