Season Change: What Will You Do with the Remaining Time?

Last summer, on a trip home to Suffolk, Virginia, I visited with a dear elder who offered many of us space and mentorship and was a powerful presence in the community. He recently passed away, and his nephew, a pastor, eulogized him by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan to describe his uncle's life.

It was the right text for Wesley Odom, the man who stopped when others passed by. He carried a selfless love that, over the years, earned him something like "mayor" status in the community, not because he held office but because of how he carried himself.

His nephew told the well-known story of how he was drafted to Vietnam and, after their parents passed, raised his siblings with a big heart and great love. He provided a place for young people to learn life skills and participate in competitive activities. It was an important resource for our rural community.

The celebration of life was well attended, and at the conclusion of the service, the haunting question was posed:

What are you going to do with the rest of your life, with the time you have left?

Let us look at what Ecclesiastes offers us. It is traditionally attributed to Solomon, the king remembered for asking God for wisdom rather than wealth. His experiences as king, with unlimited resources and the freedom to test every path a life can take, taught him that how we manage our lives matters more than what we accumulate and that God must be at the center. In chapter 3, he offers one of the most familiar passages in Scripture to convey this:

"There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every event under heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1) He lists the seasons: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. This poetic style shows the king looking back on a life spent chasing pleasure, wealth, wisdom, and legacy. Through his experiences, he reveals what he has learned. "I have seen that nothing is better than for a man to be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?" (Ecclesiastes 3:22). Beloved, we cannot see what lies beyond us, but God has entrusted us with this present season. Wisdom calls us to steward it faithfully before Him.

We now stand at summer’s end. It has felt like a long time in this extreme heat, and then, suddenly, it is gone. Seasons change whether we are ready or not; Solomon understood this, and deep down, so do we. The question isn't really about death. It's about the time still in our hands. Ecclesiastes 3 doesn't ask us to fear the hour we can't control. It asks us to be faithful in the hours we can, through our various activities. “If I can help someone with a word or a smile, my living will not be in vain.”

Three suggestions for making the most of our remaining time. 1. Understand your role as the salt and light of the world. A faithful life preserves what's good in a community and brings out its best. Light exposes and guides. It's about influence through presence, about how you live, and that life inevitably touches those around you.

2. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Make God's rule and justice the first pursuit. "Righteousness" carries both an individual and a collective sense: right standing with God and right treatment of others. Seeking it first means it shapes every other decision rather than competing with them.

3. Love God with your entirety and love your neighbor as yourself. This is the greatest command, and all others hang on it. Loving God "with your entirety" means undivided devotion. Loving your neighbor as yourself ties that devotion to action; it shows up in how you treat the person in front of you.

These three suggestions can play a major role in leaving our occupied spaces better than when we entered them and in demonstrating the power of an empowered Christian life during these dark times.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Sankofa Central Texas Ministries