The Time of Our Lives

You may know what time it is right now, but do you know whose time it is? Based on the beautiful words of Ecclesiastes 3, we are challenged to examine our futile attempts to be the lord of our own lives.Eccl. 3:1  For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:2     a time to be born, and a time to die;       a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;3     a time to kill, and a time to heal;       a time to break down, and a time to build up;4     a time to weep, and a time to laugh;       a time to mourn, and a time to dance;5     a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;       a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;6     a time to seek, and a time to lose;       a time to keep, and a time to throw away;7     a time to tear, and a time to sew;       a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;8     a time to love, and a time to hate;       a time for war, and a time for peace.9   God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.12       I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live, 13 and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil, for these things are a gift from God.