Everything At The Right Time

Arthur Gordon tells this true story of one of the leaders in a Christian

school. He came from a very poor background, and was rather homely, yet

he was married to one of the most beautiful and popular girls in Boston. He

was asked how he managed to get her to say yes to him. He explained his

strategy. He knew he had many manly rivals, and so he could not compete on

that level. He had to appeal to her tenderness, and so on one snowy night,

when he had a date with her, he slipped on the steps and fell down to the

bottom of the porch. She came rushing to his side, and he stopped groaning

just long enough to ask her to marry him. He figured she would not have the

heart to add to his misery by turning him down. He was right, and she said yes.

Timing plays a major role in most every marriage, for how people meet is

often a matter of timing. This is true for friendship, jobs, and even in the

matter of becoming a hero. President John F. Kennedy was asked how he

became a hero in the II World War, and he said, "It was involuntary. They

sank my boat." He was not looking for a way to be a hero. It was forced upon

him, and the point is, all of us may do heroic things if our life depended on it.

But if the time never occurs for us to be heroic we just never get the

opportunity. Time determines so much of life, and in our text we see many

examples.

In verse 2 Solomon begins with the two ends of life-the start and the

conclusion. The two major events for all people are birth and death.

Solomon says, "There is a time to be born." He is not saying that birth

always comes at the right time, as if all births are appointed. We know this is

not the case. The birth of Jesus was in the fullness of time, and was precisely

appointed, but there are many births that are not so appointed, just as there

are many deaths which are not appointed by God.

There are some who read this passage as teaching absolute determinism:

That every event of life is all planned, and the exact time and duration of it as

well, so that all of life is determined, and whatever will be will be. If this is

what Solomon is saying here, it is in total contrast to his emphasis on the

meaninglessness and vanity of life. If all is planned by God, and every detail

is just what He wants, then all has meaning, and all you have to do is just

accept everything as it is as the best of all possible worlds.

But Solomon is saying in this book, life if loaded with the meaningless

because so much of it is not a part of God's plan, and has no order, rhyme, or

reason. In a world where people are free to reject God and His will, you are

going to see a lot of births and deaths that are not a part of His plan. In

chapter 6 verse 3, Solomon speaks of an untimely birth. This is a reference to

being born so premature that one is born dead. There are millions of births

that are not rightly timed, and this leads to defects or death. Today doctors

can save children that once had no hope, but still these premature births are

not good. Poorly timed births are a negative reality. If there is a right time

for everything, there is also a bad time for everything.

There are millions of children conceived by acts which are forbidden by

God. Adultery, fornication, rape and incest to mention a few. In no way can

you say these conceptions are the will of God, for they violate His clear

revelation. The result is poorly timed births of children who are uninvited,

unloved, and unwanted. Abortion is the solution that millions choose to

prevent these births, and this also is not appointed by God. The beginning

and the end are out of His will. If you think all of this will make sense in

heaven, I think you will be greatly disappointed, for it will make no more

sense than Hitler's killing of 6 million Jews. It is all meaningless because it is

all based on the rejection of God's will.

All of this is to say, there is a time to be born, a right time; a time when the

parents are ready, the child is ready, and there is an environment of love.

This is being born as God intended birth. If there is a time to be born, then