菜园的收尾时节往往叫人既高兴又难过。年头好时，农产品既茁壮，产量又大，有丰足的豆角、南瓜、番茄、土豆及各种其它产品。这是令人高兴的一面。而令人难过的呢，就是要拔起那些看起来仍然健壮饱满，但已经完成生产任务的植株。所以，当我拔出那些已耗尽了的西兰花、豆子和番茄植株时，常感到一种失落和悲伤。然而，我们必须这样做，好为下个季节做准备。
传道书扣人心弦的美，在于它那种“日光之下”务实的生活态度。 栽种时感到兴奋，拔出时感到悲伤。然而，我们若能够拥抱在神看顾和掌管之下的一切生与死，个中纵然有喜有悲，却是人生的智慧。
我大可以把我的西兰花、豆角、番茄和其它植株留在地里，盼着它们能经受住霜冻和冰雪，明年春天萌发出新生命，但这不是那些植物的天性。如果我希望享受到新生命的萌芽，就需要在春天再播种一次。
人生的四季也是这个道理——若我们循着四季的起迭，必然有喜有悲，但在基督里，这一切，将引到未来的世界。
天上的神啊，感谢祢定下一年四季以及我们生命四季的规律。帮助我们无论在哪个季节，都在祢里面喜乐。奉耶稣的名祷告，阿们。
传道书 3:1-8
1凡事都有定期， 天下万务都有定时。
2生有时，死有时； 栽种有时，拔出所栽种的也有时；
3杀戮有时，医治有时； 拆毁有时，建造有时；
4哭有时，笑有时； 哀恸有时，跳舞有时；
5抛掷石头有时，堆聚石头有时； 怀抱有时，不怀抱有时；
6寻找有时，失落有时； 保守有时，舍弃有时；
7撕裂有时，缝补有时； 静默有时，言语有时；
8喜爱有时，恨恶有时； 争战有时，和好有时。
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:... a time to plant and a time to uproot." — Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
The end of the vegetable gardening season is a glad time and a sad time. In a good year, the harvest is healthy and heavy with bountiful beans, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, and all other kinds of produce. That's the glad part. The sad part includes the uprooting of plants that still look hearty and strong but have yielded their harvest. So I often feel a pang of loss and sorrow when I uproot my spent broccoli, bean, and tomato plants. Nevertheless, it must be done to prepare for the next season.
The profound beauty of Ecclesiastes is its down-to-earth approach to life "under the sun." While the time for planting may be more invigorating, the time for uprooting must receive its due. Embracing all of life and death as under God's care and control is a glad/sad business that is only wise.
I could have left my broccoli, bean, tomato, and other plants in the ground in the hope that they would weather the frost and snow and sprout new life in the spring, but such is not the nature of those plants. If I hope to enjoy the sprouting of new life, I will need to plant again in the spring.
So too with the seasons of life—doing what is required in each season is a sad/glad business that in Christ leads to the world to come.
God in heaven, thank you for ordering the seasons of the year and the seasons of our lives. Help us to rejoice in you, no matter what the season. In Jesus' name, Amen.
诵读: 楚云
片头: 张妙阳
