“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” — Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV

All three of our kids were born after the invention of the iPhone. They assume it’s screen time all the time, so Julie and I have enlisted to serve as the Electronic Device Police. It’s a thankless job with ridiculous hours, but someone’s gotta do it.

In this life, too much of anything is problematic, even good things. That’s because the reality of the human condition is that we live in a world that doesn’t function the way it was designed to. There is an invisible chasm that separates us from our loving Creator. To experience perpetual peace and blissfulness in the context of a fallen world would be to live a lie.

Sometimes tragedies rattle people’s faith. This is understandable; when things go terribly wrong it makes us question why God hasn’t intervened. But if we attend to the teachings of scripture, we won’t be so surprised by trying times. Every ache, pain, stumble, loss and sadness is a reminder that Adam and Eve should have listened to God in the garden. Thanks to sin, we live in a temporary time of difficulty. But thanks to God, we will one day experience an unending time of joyous fellowship with the Lord and with one another.

Dear God, help us to have hope even amid challenging seasons of life. Let us begin, even now, to emulate your eternal kingdom by pursuing peace and harmony with everyone around us. Amen.