A time to love and and a time to hate
A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace (Ecclesiastes 3:8).
Psalm 45:7 says prophetically of Christ, “You love righteousness and hate wickedness.” Isaiah warns of those who “call evil good and good evil” (see Isaiah 5:20). It is a dangerous moral path we tread when we overlook what is evil and, even worse, convince ourselves it is good. Undermining good by portraying it as evil is a sign of moral bankruptcy. The Christian should never be surprised by the contortions of the human mind when it attempts to justify moral failure. Our testimony is to follow our Saviour by loving righteousness and hating wickedness.
This process is described as a war in Ephesians 6. To be victorious, we find our strength in the Lord and in the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. And we are given the whole armour of God to fight the spiritual battle we are in (see Ephesians 6:10-18). The writer of Ecclesiastes finishes this remarkable passage with “a time for peace.” It is a fitting end to the insights he brings before us. The Christian has peace with God (Romans 5:1), the Christian enjoys a peace which passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7) and the Christian knows the God of peace (Philippians 4:9). The Lord Jesus is described as the Prince of Peace, and in John 14:27 He says, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The writer of Ecclesiastes views one time as succeeding another time. But astonishingly, we can know the peace of God’s presence at the very time we are passing through circumstances which are anything but peaceful.
Over the past few days we have thought about time. We need time to worship and pray, time to listen to God in His word, time for each other, time for our children, our families, our friends, our fellowship, and our neighbours. We need to sacrifice time in service, but also to “rest a while” (Mark 6:31). We also need to make time to consider the journey we are taking in life. With 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week, each week has 168 hours. It is good to reflect on how we use this precious resource. We can never go back to reuse time. But by the grace of God, even when we have wasted years, we are never to forget that God has the power to restore to us “the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25).
Scripture encourages us to reflect and take action regarding our use of time: “Making the best use of time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16, ESV); “Conduct yourselves wisely towards outsiders, making the best use of time” (Colossians 4:5 ESV). God has given us one life with which to honour Him, and one day that life will be complete. He encourages us to live day by day, using the time given to us wisely and profitably and with the confidence that our “times are in His hand” (Psalm 31:15). John Wesley said, “I am not careful for what may be a hundred years hence. He who governed the world before I was born shall take care of it likewise when I am dead. My part is to improve the present moment.”
That present moment is today!
