No matter how long we’ve been alive, there are times we can look back on and say “that was the best time of my life” or “that was the time when I was closest to God.” It seems like we are living life just trying to get by from one mountain top experience to the next. Those high times in our lives are extremely special to us and the times of great renewal and spiritual strength and healing and comfort. The mountain tops are the times of life we “enjoy” the most and times that are always much too short. So what do we do with the other 99% of our lives? Do we just mope around from mountain to mountain, living for the future and hoping the next mountain top will come tomorrow? That is kind of how I have lived my life in the past, and that makes for a life full of disappointment and never being satisfied or content. Not exactly the place to be when life is between mountain tops.
Ecclesiastes challenges this kind of life, challenges all life in general, and asks the question “why?” to pretty much everything “under the sun” humans can fill their lives with. What is the point of all this? Qoheleth (the Teacher), the author of Ecclesiastes (whoever it may be), explains how futile working for this or that in the future is, how it is nothing more than “chasing after the wind.” Specifically in chapter 3, Qoheleth focuses on the time between the mountain tops. Here is Ecclesiastes 3:1-14:
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
Verse 11 is what we are told to do with life between the mountain tops. God made everything beautiful in its time, so what is the proper response to this? A time to kill? To hate? For war? God made these things beautiful? It’s kind of hard to swallow when you think about it, but that is why God is God and we are not. There are 2 things we can do with this. Recognize and accept God’s timing and live appropriately, or fight it and reject and try to carve our own path. The former is a little tough to read and get down, but it’s simple in idea. When it’s time to laugh, laugh. When it’s time to mourn, mourn. When it is time to embrace, hug and touch. When it is time to refrain, refrain. Find what season of life God has placed in front of you and live it to the fullest.
The latter is a scary place to be. Fighting against God is always a bad idea. When choosing sides, it is always a bad side to choose the side that stands opposite God. You can fight God’s timing and try to do things your own way, and you might even succeed sometimes. But why would you want to sell yourself short of God’s plan? Why not just accept it and embrace it.
Look back to verses 12-14. The key to living between the mountain tops is finding the joy in today. Not worrying about the future, not living just “buying time” until your next mountain top experience. Today is all that exists; make the most of it and make God smile in it. Jesus hit on this in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 6:25-31 is usually discussed with regard to worry, and this is kind of what the root of the problem is. But I think the main point is just to live completely in today. Tomorrow doesn’t exist and will worry about itself. God will put you where he needs you to be. Live completely in it. The mountains will come and go, but God is forever.
I know this doesn’t make life between the mountain tops any less difficult, but it might bring a little more joy in every day if you go digging and trying to find what season God has placed you in, and live accordingly. Don’t miss the journey in looking for the end result; you will miss out on many small times of joy and fulfillment looking for one big one.
