The myths that we are exploring during the message series “Finding Faith” exist for a reason. People did not conjur them up out of the blue – they originated with scripture passages that either have been misconstrued over the centuries or imaginary texts that are “thought” to be biblical, but actually are manmade.
The myth that scripture says “everything happens for a reason” most likely originates from the book of Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes 3Common English Bible (CEB)
A season for everything
3 There’s a season for everything
and a time for every matter under the heavens:
2 a time for giving birth and a time for dying,
a time for planting and a time for uprooting what was planted,
3 a time for killing and a time for healing,
a time for tearing down and a time for building up,
4 a time for crying and a time for laughing,
a time for mourning and a time for dancing,
5 a time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,
a time for embracing and a time for avoiding embraces,
6 a time for searching and a time for losing,
a time for keeping and a time for throwing away,
7 a time for tearing and a time for repairing,
a time for keeping silent and a time for speaking,
8 a time for loving and a time for hating,
a time for war and a time for peace.
If we read this poetry of scripture with the understanding that “fixed orders” provide structure rather than an actual calendar, then individual human moral decision is made possible.
The poem can be a call for us to be wise, ethical, to discern when our actions are in the time of Love (God) and then – how we can act accordingly to things being IN That time!
Also – if we read this through a positive lens . . . we will be able to focus on the grace that is characteristic of life!
How would or could life be a gift it there wasn’t the simultaneous gift of death?
If we did not know of death – we would not know the urgency and beauty of each day! This doesn’t mean we should welcome death, but it does mean that having the awareness that death does exist makes life all the more beautiful!
What if instead of reading this passage of poetry in Ecclesiastes as “doctrine” that everything happens for a reason and we are living in a fatalistic culture where our actions do not matter, we read it as a beautiful opportunity we have to exist within time.
Being born . . . dying
Planting . . . uprooting
Ceasing . . . healing
Ridding of negativity . . . building up
Weeping . . . laughing
Mourning . . . dancing
Moving on . . . regrouping
Embracing and loving . . . letting go
Searching . . . giving up
Cherishing . . . throwing away
Listening . . . speaking
Loving . . . despising
Fighting for what is right . . . living in peace.
God/Love gives us opportunities to do all these things within our human construct of time.