Reflection for 2026 Chinese New Year - Ecclesiastes 3:11

With the coming Chinese New Year that calls for reflection on our life, here is a verse for your consideration...

Ecclesiastes 3:11

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.

He has also set eternity in the human heart;

yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

Reflection:

1. "He has made everything beautiful in its time": This phrase provides a "theology of timing," not a promise of instant clarity. It reassures that every season—even painful ones—has a purpose and will reveal its beauty at its appointed moment, even if only in hindsight.
2. "He has set eternity in the human heart": This is the source of our deep, innate longing for permanence, meaning, and justice. Unlike animals, humans are wired with a transcendent ache that points to something beyond the temporary, temporal world.
3. "Yet no one can fathom...": This creates the central tension of the human experience. We are made for eternity, yet we cannot see the full picture or understand God's complete plan from beginning to end. This gap between our eternal longing and our limited understanding is meant to produce humility, not frustration.

The Big Idea: The verse is about mystery and meaning coexisting. It acknowledges that we live within time while yearning for eternity, and that we cannot see the full design. The application is that our task is not to grasp the entire arc of the story, but to live faithfully in the present moment, trusting that beauty will unfold in its own time.

Live well by:

• Receiving today as a gift—find joy in small things now.
• Holding both grief and gladness fully, without forcing either.
• Making peace with mystery—you don't need the whole blueprint.
• Walking in humble awe, not demanding all the answers.
• Doing the small good right in front of you with integrity.
• Letting your longing for eternity keep your heart soft, not restless.

In short: Show up fully to today, trust the One who holds forever, and let your ache for more point you toward home.

C.S. Lewis put it this way:

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”

Prayer:

Lord of time and eternity,
Teach me to trust Your timing when I cannot see the whole picture.
Help me trust what I cannot see,
and receive what is beautiful today.
Place peace in my heart when understanding fails me.
Help me hold the ache for eternity
without needing all the answers.
You hold the beginning and the end—
I will hold this moment.
Amen.

May you have a joyful and healthy Chinese New Year 2026.