There is a time for every event under heaven— He has also set eternity in their heart.

Ecclesiastes 3 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—

² A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
³ A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
⁴ A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
⁵ A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
⁶ A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
⁷ A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
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 profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? ¹⁰ I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man

¹¹ He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

¹² I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; ¹³ moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him. ¹⁵ That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.

¹⁶ Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. ¹⁷ I said to myself, “God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man,” for a time for every matter and for every deed is there. ¹⁸ I said to myself concerning the sons of men, “God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts.” ¹⁹ For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. ²⁰ All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust. ²¹ Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth? ²² I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?

Today’s text says:  There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—

A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.

We had no control over the time of our birth, but God knew. In Jeremiah 1:5 God says:  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you.”  None of us know the number of our days, but God knows. Psalm 139:13-16 says:  You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.  I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;  Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.  We, as people   are subject to and limited by time and our lives are filled with the things the writer speaks of: there is a time for every event under heaven—   

Yet the writer also says:  He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart.   Even though we are subject to finite time, God has set eternity in our hearts. Everyone has an awareness that there is something beyond this life. There is a time for every event under heaven, but heaven itself is not subject to or limited by time. It, like God, is eternal.  Because God set eternity in our hearts, and because He is a righteous and just God, He also gave us the way to eternity. John 3:16 says: God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  In John 14:6 Jesus says:  "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  Jesus taught us to pray saying:  Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.   Eternity is more than just in our hearts. We are to live, in this life, as we will in eternity. Revelation 21:4 says:  God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.  Revelation 4:8-11 says:  Day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy is theLord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”  And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,  the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,  “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”   One of my favorite lines from the familiar song Amazing Grace says: When we've been there ten thousand years Bright shining as the sun, We've no less days to sing God's praise Than when we'd first begun.   In Luke 17:21 Jesus says:  Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.  There is a time for every event under heaven, but may we not let the busyness of this life limit us to that finite time. Because the eternal kingdom of God is within us, may we live our lives now as it will be in heaven.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You that You have not only put eternity in my heart, but You have given me eternal life. Because I am not limited to finite time; because You have placed Your eternal kingdom within me, I will not wait until this life’s end to sing Your praise. I will worship You now and forever. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Amen.