Today we will read Ecclesiastes 3: 9-15:

9 What gain have the workers from their toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. 11 He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; 13 moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. 14 I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor anything taken from it; God has done this so that all should stand in awe before him. 15 That which is already has been, that which is to be already is, and God seeks out what has gone by.

The Teacher takes an unexpected turn today.  He tells us that one of God’s gifts to us is for us to enjoy the toil, or the work, of our lives.  He says that God has given us a sense of the past and of the future, though we cannot truly understand either.  There is a mystery to life, a mystery beyond our understanding.

What we have is today.  So, live it.  Yes, the future awaits.  We do not know what it holds.  We do not know what pains, or joy, what tears, or laughter await us. We do not know, nor do we understand.  We have today.

We know the past lay behind us. There is nothing we can do about it. We can’t change it. We can only learn from it, seek to atone for our mistakes, receive grace, and grow.  We cannot do anything about what has happened.  We have no control of the past.  We have today.

So, today, we work.  We work at the task before us.  We see the learn to grow. To laugh.  Notice how the Teacher includes joy among the things that we are to do.  We enjoy this day.  We enjoy our families.  We enjoy the beauty of life. We live.

I think this book teaches us one of the truths of wisdom.  Learn what you can control.  Learn what is within your power.  Be faithful with that.  Learn from that.  Enjoy that.  And leave the rest to God.  You and I have today.  Let’s live it, joyfully.  And let’s trust in God, in all things. 

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