It's getting cold down here again. This morning, we have ice on the cars and 36 degrees. Doesn't sound like much to northern folks, but it is a big deal to us.
It reminds us of the round-and-round world we live in. No matter how hot it gets in the summer, it gets cold again in the winter. No matter how cold in the winter, it is hot in the summer when summer comes around. Except for those who live in the Tropical regions, the seasons are as close to eternal as things get on earth.
We try to make everything seem special and new, but it really does go around and around every year. Sometimes, it can become a real downer for us. It seems like we fight the same fights over and over. We deal with the same problems and face the same concerns. There comes a point where you are tired to eating the same foods and just walking through the routine of life.
The is the point of the first chapter of Ecclesiastes. The Preacher begins his whole sermon with a section on the repetition of life.
"What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?
A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises.
The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north;
Around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.
All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full;
To the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.
All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it;
The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there a thing of which it is said, "See, this is new"?
It has been already in the ages before us.
There is no remembrance of former things,
Nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be
Among those who come after."
As we age, the futility of the world, as shown in his sermon, becomes clear to us. Every election is "the most important election in our history." Every year there is another "game of the century." Every year there is another attempt to make us think that something new is happening, but life continues anyway.
God has placed us in a world of repetition and, yes, boredom to anyone who thinks about it. We try to bury this reality with television and movies and games and activities, but it remains as fundamental to our lives.
But the repetition is a gift to us. The fact that the years repeat again and again allow us to plan, to prepare, to know what we can expect. The cycle of water and wind keeps our weather interesting.
But, most importantly, we know where to look for eternal value. We look to God, the one eternal factor in our lives. Water and wind are not eternal. The sun is not eternal. The things that we deal with all the time are not eternal. God is eternal.
As we enter winter, yet another cycle, we are reminded that it is God who has established everything this way. God has created all of this for us and has made a promise. The repetition reminds us of His faithfulness to His word. In Genesis 8, we are told this:
"And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease."
As we enter the cold, let us remember that the seasons remind us of God. He is still there, it is by Him that all things continue. It is for Him that we are to live, in cold and in hot weather.
It reminds us of the round-and-round world we live in. No matter how hot it gets in the summer, it gets cold again in the winter. No matter how cold in the winter, it is hot in the summer when summer comes around. Except for those who live in the Tropical regions, the seasons are as close to eternal as things get on earth.
We try to make everything seem special and new, but it really does go around and around every year. Sometimes, it can become a real downer for us. It seems like we fight the same fights over and over. We deal with the same problems and face the same concerns. There comes a point where you are tired to eating the same foods and just walking through the routine of life.
The is the point of the first chapter of Ecclesiastes. The Preacher begins his whole sermon with a section on the repetition of life.
"What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?
A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises.
The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north;
Around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.
All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full;
To the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.
All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it;
The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there a thing of which it is said, "See, this is new"?
It has been already in the ages before us.
There is no remembrance of former things,
Nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be
Among those who come after."
As we age, the futility of the world, as shown in his sermon, becomes clear to us. Every election is "the most important election in our history." Every year there is another "game of the century." Every year there is another attempt to make us think that something new is happening, but life continues anyway.
God has placed us in a world of repetition and, yes, boredom to anyone who thinks about it. We try to bury this reality with television and movies and games and activities, but it remains as fundamental to our lives.
But the repetition is a gift to us. The fact that the years repeat again and again allow us to plan, to prepare, to know what we can expect. The cycle of water and wind keeps our weather interesting.
But, most importantly, we know where to look for eternal value. We look to God, the one eternal factor in our lives. Water and wind are not eternal. The sun is not eternal. The things that we deal with all the time are not eternal. God is eternal.
As we enter winter, yet another cycle, we are reminded that it is God who has established everything this way. God has created all of this for us and has made a promise. The repetition reminds us of His faithfulness to His word. In Genesis 8, we are told this:
"And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease."
As we enter the cold, let us remember that the seasons remind us of God. He is still there, it is by Him that all things continue. It is for Him that we are to live, in cold and in hot weather.
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