Ironically, as I was working on this sermon yesterday there was a knock on the door. It
happened to be a couple of women from Jehovah ’s Witness. They asked me if I thought
there was a “earthly” government that could unite the world? …..I looked around my
neighborhood to see if anyone was watching….looked them straight in the eyes and said.
“No”. I believe in God like you and proudly stated that I was Presbyterian. They gave
me some literature and I told them I could not let them in as I was preparing for a sermon
about Ecclesiastes 3 and God’s Great Commandments.
An interesting aspect of the Great Commandments is do these two Great Commandments
trump the 10 Commandments written in Deuteronomy 5? My research and study indicate
that Matthew 22:40 that we read earlier answer this question….”On these commandments
hang all the law and the prophets”. In other words the 10 Commandments are
encompassed in the 2 Great Commandments!
There is a time to weep and a time to laugh! There is a time to mourn and a time to
dance!
Let me close with a personal story. Most of you know my Dad passed away last July
….One of the memories I will always cherish concerning my Dad is an event that
occurred in the last month of his life. We were eating at my parent’s kitchen table at their
apartment in Dallas. Dad was really struggling with his Parkinson’s disease at this point
in his life. His hand trembled so badly he had a hard time feeding himself…….I rolled
my chair over to him and helped feed him his lunch….. Dad was so frustrated that his
life had reached the state where his son had to help feed him. I on the other hand view
this as one of the most poignant moments of my life. Here I was with opportunity of
going full circle. My Dad fed me as an infant many times, physically, spiritually and
emotionally. Here I was able to feed him in his last days.
I take great comfort in remembering this story. I view it as an example of how God
teaches us about the circle of life. There is a time to feed and there is a time to be fed.
There is a time to weep and a time to laugh…….There is a time to mourn, and a time to
dance. There a time to keep silence and time to speak….There is a time to love, and time
to hate!…….There is also plenty of time to love the lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul and all with your mind…. and there is also plenty of time to love your
neighbor as yourself!…..Amen
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