A Time for Everything

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

• A time to be born, and a time to die;
• A time to plant, and a time to puck what is planned;
• 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;
• A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
• A time to gain, and a time to lose;
• A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
• A time to tear, 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 to war, and a time of peace.
  

This poem speaks with eloquence of the role of time in the life of a believer. Some regard the Book of Ecclesiastes as describing life apart from God, but clearly this text describes life that is lived in relationship with God. Though these words, we are taught that everything has an opportune time that each event is in the hand of God, who makes everything happen in the time He judges appropriate.

Many of us face numerous life situations that we cannot fully understand or explain. A sudden illness, the passing of a love one, an unexpected release from our job, or simply things not working out the way we feel they should. In the mist of our situation, we question why they are happening. The answer is…that all of life unfolds according to God’s appointment. All the toiling of man cannot change the times, circumstances, and control of events that God has reserved to Himself.

That may sound somewhat harsh; that we are at the mercy of God to do whatever He wants, when He wants it. I believe the key word here is “mercy.” Only through the mercy of God can we be given the opportunity of life itself.

I have gone back and edited this previous posting for a very special friend. Patty Driggs went home to be with our Savior on January 14, 2005. Patty and Von (her husband) assisted with our application into Mercy Ships. She has served our ministry, both in our corporate office and in Freetown, West Africa (New Steps Program) for numerous years. She will be missed, but we know that she is home. Pray for the Driggs Family as we are, that Christ will be ever closer during this time of season.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-10

Love your Enemies

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy,' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you many be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

Matthew 5:43-44

To most, this commandment is difficult to fully understand, let alone accept. Niebuhr was one of the first modern theologians to recognize what the experiences of this century have revealed about human nature. His Moral Man and Immoral Society, published in 1932, rejected social-gossip liberalism by arguing that the liberals failed to understand the collective pride of groups or nations. Niebuhr believed that liberal "moralists" would never produce lasting reform because they were naive about human nature. They "seemed to believe that the only reason men had not followed the love commandment in the vast collective relations of mankind was because no one had called their attention to the necessity." Individuals may at times yield to moral arguments, but groups (and therefore society as a whole) will not.

Because our world is filled with so many different groups and communities, each pursuing its own interests, a just society is not going to be built by a little more education and a few more sermons on love. Nations sign peace treaties because they believe the terms of the treaty holds a more advantageous future than that of continuation of war. Nations and groups routinely believe their own purposes are just, perhaps even inspired by God, and they see their enemies as evil and demonic. The question a hand is -- where do you draw the line between loving and praying for your enemies and going to war?

Certainly there is no human on the face of our planet that can fully answer this question to the satisfaction of all. Scripture states we should love and pray for our enemy...but if you noticed, it still retains their name "the enemy." They are not consider "friends"...representing a person you should take home to meet Mother. Scripture also justifies going after whole nations...killing off everything - livestock, children, women, etc., just because God said so!

In address any war, we must consider what we are truly going to war for:

• Pride - the essence of sin and the central failing of every individual, but group pride is the most destructive impulse in human history. It starts ware, racial conflicts, and crimes against humanity, and then pins the blame on the other side.
• Envy - individuals fall into envy and conceit because of their pride, and groups follow the same pattern. They believe that others have been more successful than they because privileges have not been fairly distributed. People that retain envy, typically take shots at those that have something they don't have.
• Anger - unstapled envy often leads to anger. Most poorer countries that have been offer direction for building a free-market economy believe that they only achieve wealth through plundering others. They simply don't trust the givers.
• Sloth - groups and communities, like individuals, can easily succumb to the sin of sloth. When they feel trapped by poverty, illiteracy, lawlessness, and unemployment, some populations conclude that no amount of effort will change their circumstances.
• Avarice - gluttony, and lust reveal what some have deceived as an excessive love for things or people. Different from the first three (pride, envy, and anger), which reveals a love so selfish that it results in violence against one's neighbor...sloth - demonstrates the absence of love...avarice or the love of money and maximize of profits is the love of things in a lustful way.
• Lust - an excess passion that is impossible to satisy with externals eventually turns cold after acquiring because of the need for more.

When Scripture expresses "love and pray for your enemies", we must separate the concept of love and prayer from the reality of "who is the real enemy." Certainly, if we consider the source which makes an enemy, the foundation is sin. It is the sin that separates and undermines our relationship with Christ; therefore, loving and praying is directed towards the person, not their sinful acts. It is again interesting that Scripture doesn't change the word enemy to friend...only love and prayer can.

I am certainly not asking to change our present enemies into friends or our nation's direction in the Middle East to combat nations that harm others, or we should stop praying for them...All have come short and all have sinned...thanks to the mercy of God, He has forgiven us for our sins. He can do the same with our enemies, but we need to be involved. That is why Scripture is written this way. Maybe this will help!