A Time for Everything

By Jason Sykora

There is a familiar passage in Ecclesiastes that is well known to most people. So well-known that some of the verses have been said in movies. I remember when Kevin Bacon, in the 1984 movie “Footloose,” told John Lithgow that there is a time to dance. The writers of the movie had Kevin Bacon pull out a Bible and turn to Ecclesiastes.

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3 that “for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break 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 cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

I was thinking about these verses over the last few weeks as I have been studying the book of Ecclesiastes in my devotion time. The God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, who created the literal world and everything in it in 6 days, also created a time for everything—a time of new beginning and a time when things must come to an end.

I have found in my own life that I like the positive things that come with time. I like it when things begin and grow. I love planting in the Spring and watching plants flourish. I love watching people commit their lives to Jesus and get baptized. I love witnessing new marriages form, the beginnings of a small group, the experience of trying and learning something new, and even the moment when I witnessed my children being born. I gravitate towards the positive things about life. Like a time to be born and a time to plant. Even a time to dance, laugh, build others up, and to love.

What I struggle with is endings. I think this is one of the hardest struggles in life. Times when what we have planted dies, or when I weep or mourn. I especially struggle with change. I am not fond of those times when I experience loss, yet life goes on. Some of the hardest realities are when someone you know and have a relationship with decides to move on. It could be a co-worker moving on, a career ending, a best friend moving away after high school, or even a good friend passing into eternity. It’s in these moments when that season of time ends.

In August of 2026, the residents of the United States experienced many events on this list, especially a time to die. The United States just lost to death a beloved country music singer, Dolly Parton, and experienced the deaths of actors Tim Curry and Hayden Panettiere. When Dolly Parton died, for a moment, time stopped.

Tim Curry and Dolly Parton both spoke about death and the afterlife.

In his 2025 memoir Vagabond, Tim Curry noted that he did not believe in Heaven or Hell but was curious about the afterlife.

Dolly Parton was even quoted as saying that “she doesn’t feel that death is the end of us.”

The truth is, there is an afterlife, and death is not the end. Solomon spoke about the afterlife in Ecclesiastes 3:11ESV when he said, ^“He (God) has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”

Every one of us has eternity in our hearts that needs to be wrestled with. God who created the heavens and the earth created both Heaven and Hell. Hell was created for the Devil and his demons, while Heaven was created for the angels and saints that will spend eternity in Heaven with God. There comes a time when we all die, and eternity awaits us. The Bible teaches that when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31), we will be saved from eternal death and separation from God. For the saint who believes in Jesus, when they die, the soul of the person goes immediately to be with the Lord in Heaven. Whereas the individual who does not believe in Jesus Christ chooses to reject in their heart that Jesus is Lord and Savior and chooses to spend eternity apart from Him in Hell.

Heaven and Hell are real places to which the souls of every life under the sun will go after death. In Heaven, we will spend eternity with God and Jesus. Hell will be for those who reject God and choose to spend eternity there. Jesus Christ spoke more about Hell than anyone in the New Testament. He spoke about it because he did not want anyone to reject God’s gift of eternal life in Heaven.

God offers us the gift of eternal life in Heaven to anyone who believes in the name of Jesus Christ. I love to accept gifts from others. When a gift is given, the giver does not accept anything in return. He wants you to accept his gift. Romans 6:23 NIV says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Here on earth, we have time: a time to be born and a time to die. What I came to realize is that there is one place where time does not end: eternity. For believers in Jesus, life on earth is good, but the best life is in Heaven. In Heaven, there is no time. Fellowship with others and with God will not end. Praise and worship will not end. In eternity, we will meet loved ones again who have died and be alive with them forever. There will be no more weeping and mourning, no more war, no more death, and no more loss. Believers in Jesus Christ will be forever, eternally with God.

Hell has no time either. For those who do not believe in Jesus, earth is the best you will get; you will experience it. In Hell there is no fellowship, lots of pain and suffering, lots of weeping. The worst part will be spending eternity apart from God, forever separated from him.

As a believer in Jesus, I look forward to eternity. To the time when I can be alive forever without end. I am anticipating the time when I can see Jesus face to face in Heaven. When the Son of God will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:23 ESV)

My prayer is that you will too!

1 John 1:11-12: “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11:25-27)

Click to learn more about this gift of eternal life and the steps of salvation.

About the Author

Jason began his ministry with a podcast called Abiding in the Faith, which grew into Abiding in the Faith Ministries (www.abidinginthefaith.org). A ministry to make God known by focusing on spiritual growth and evangelism through discipleship by helping to strengthen a person’s walk with Christ.

To learn more about our ministries, visit Abidinginthefaith.org.

You can support Abiding in the Faith ministries by purchasing our new book. “Strengthen Your Walk: Lessons from Paul’s walk with the Lord.”