QT 19/01/2025 Sun. Ecclesiastes 3. Frustration over "But is the time now"? "但现在是时候了吗?" 的沮丧 。
QT 19/01/2025 Sun. Ecclesiastes 3. But is the time now?
READ http://www.esvbible.org/eccl3
Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: (ESV)
The next 7 verses list out a time for this and that, even "He has made everything beautiful in its time" (3:11a). This list included things which we have NO CONTROL over (when to be born or die). Even weeping and mourning (3:4) depended on surrounding circumstances thrown upon us. But is the time now, for you to make that important life decision? For you to buy or sell? Keep or throw? Connect or cut? Can we understand what God is actually doing now or His Timing?
Frequently, these are beyond our grasp and understanding, and might lead to frustration with life and others. In fact, "yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end" (3:11) rang frequently in the ears of finite humans.
Qoheleth struggled with time and timing, the mortal human versus the finite God. So do we. While timing is critical in investment decisions and other important moments, humans cannot fully understand timing—be these our own timings or God's timings. Many of us cannot accept that we do not see the whole picture. Our words of criticism and "stab" at others frequently are based on our partial knowledge only. We don't see the viewpoint of God or others. Others, even your closest kin, or God might not want to reveal to you the missing pieces for various reasons.
Ecclesiastes 3:14–15 [14] I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. [15] That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. (ESV)
LEARNING (1): God sees the whole (eternity), we do not. God's work endures forever, we need to join Him at His work instead of chasing after "wind", which does not endure. We do well to enjoy God's gift of work, play and rest (1:15) yet fear God at the same time—recognising the distance between God and humans, God is God and we are not.
Humans have explored space for many decades, yet the earlier man-made rocket spacecrafts have just reached the boundaries of the Solar System, after so long. Note that it is the machines/spacecraft that are at the boundary, there is NO human sitting in that machine. The nearest star to us (other than the Sun) is Alpha Centauri, about 4.3 light years away. If light would take that long to reach it, humans should now accept our minute finiteness. Don't talk about the rest of the billions of starts and constellations that are even further away.
LEARNING (2): "God seeks what has been drive away" (3:15) suggests that because humans are finite, much missing information is away from humans. Only God can know those missing information because God is infinite. Only God can seek these. Therefore, today, would you with thankfulness "eat and drink", "take pleasure in all his toil" (3:13), and "rejoice in his work, for that is his lot" (3:22)? When faced with life's frustrations, seek God and a life centred on Him, that's the best you can do for now.
There is already enough clear and known things for you to do at where God had placed you. Why chase after the "ideals" which would never arrive due to either the finiteness of humanity or the infiniteness of God, or both?
QT 19/01/2025 星期日. 传道书 3. "但现在是时候了吗?" 的沮丧 。
http://m.bbintl.org/bible/ncv/ecc/3
传道书 3:1 万事都有定期,天下万务都有定时:
接下去的 7 节经文列出了做这做那的时间,甚至 “他使万事各按其时,成为美好”(3:11a)。这包括我们无法控制的事情(何时出生或死亡)。甚至哭泣和哀恸(3:4)也取决于周围环境对我们的影响。但现在是你做出重要人生决定的时候了吗?是买还是卖?保留还是丢弃?连接还是切断?我们能否理解上帝现在究竟在做什么或祂的时机?
这些往往超出了我们的掌握和理解范围,可能会导致我们对生活和他人产生挫败感。事实上,“人还是不能察觉 神自始至终的作为”(3:11)经常在有限的人类耳边响起。
在时间和时机面前,在凡人与有限的上帝之间,教师(科希勒)一直在挣扎。我们也是如此。 虽然时间在投资决策和其他重要时刻至关重要,但人类无法完全理解时间--无论是我们自己的时间还是上帝的时间。我们中的许多人都无法接受自己没有看到全局的事实。我们批评和刺伤他人的言辞往往只是基于我们的片面认识。我们看不到上帝或他人的观点。其他人,甚至是你最亲近的人,或者上帝可能出于各种原因不想向你揭示缺失的部分。
传道书 3:14-15 [14] 我知道 神所作的一切,都必永存,无可增添,无可减少; 神这样作,为要使人在他面前存敬畏的心。 15 现在有的,先前就有;将来有的,早已有了;因为 神使已过的事重新出现(“ 神使已过的事重新出现”原文作“ 神寻回已过的事”)。
学习 (1): 上帝看到的是整体(永恒),而我们看不到。上帝的工作永存,我们需要与祂同工,而不是追逐不永存的 “风”。我们应该享受上帝赐予的工作、娱乐和休息(1:15),但同时也要敬畏上帝,认识到上帝与人类之间的距离,上帝是上帝,我们不是。
人类探索太空已经有几十年的历史,然而早期的人造火箭飞船经过这么长时间才刚刚到达太阳系的边界。要注意哦,到达边界的是机器而已,机器火箭里并没有人类啊。距离我们最近的恒星(除了太阳)是半人马座阿尔法星 (Alpha Centauri),距离我们大概有4.3光年。如果光到达它需要那么长的时间,那么人类现在就应该接受我们的微小。其他更遥远的数十亿个星体和星座了就更不用说了!
学习(2):“ 神使已过的事重新出现”原文作“ 神寻回已过的事”(3:15,新译本)表明,因为人类是有限的,所以许多缺失的信息远离人类。只有上帝才能知道这些缺失的信息,因为上帝是无限的。只有上帝才能寻找这些。因此,今天,你是否带着感恩 “有吃有喝”,“在自己的一切劳碌中自得其乐”(3:13),“在自己所作的事上自得其乐,因为这也是他的分”(3:22)。面对生活中的挫折时,寻求上帝和以祂为中心的生活是最佳。
在上帝安置你的地方,已经有足够多清楚的事情让你去做。因为人类的有限性和上帝的无限性,或者两者兼而有之,为什么要追逐那永远不会实现的“理想 ”呢?