“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 ESV)

Every time I read this verse, I hear The Byrds singing “Turn, Turn, Turn” in my head. Yet, this passage is more than the inspiration for a 60s song. It is a keen observation on life “under the sun.” As the writer, Solomon, struggled with a search for meaning in life, he observed that everything has a “season” and a “time.” There is an appointed start and finish “time,” and there is a length of time between the beginning and end of a “season.” Just as the sun, moon and earth move through times and seasons set by an unseen hand, so the times and seasons of humanity seem similarly set. Solomon concluded that it is best to just “be joyful and to do good” (Eccl.3:12) in every season, since we have no control over the times. In other words, make the best of things as they are, knowing as the Persian poets have said, “This too shall pass.” Yet, Solomon’s observations were necessarily limited to life “under the sun.” His wisdom did not take into account the larger arc of time that began at creation and will end with the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the judgment. Those who have heard this revelation from “beyond the sun” are able to do more than just make the best of things. They are able to hope for better things to come because of Jesus.