Cast your bread

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. - Ecclesiastes 11:1-6

‘Cast your bread upon the waters’ is an interesting phrase. I don’t understand how the idiom came to be, but the idea is that we are to do good without any regard as to how we might be rewarded or recompensed.

That is a beautiful idea, isn’t it? We ought to just be doing good no matter what. This casting bread could be as simple as being a kind and helpful person. It could be meeting the needs of those less fortunate. Or it could be something as profound as sharing Christ with people we meet.

It does seem at times like that last thing is done without any sign that it is doing any good. Solomon writes that we don’t understand how the spirit moves or the bones grow in the womb. We can know more hope to understand how God is using us or how He is going to work.

So we just keep casting our bread on the waters and leave the rest up to God. Keep on loving, keep on doing good deeds, keep on caring, keep on caring for others, keep on sharing your faith, keep talking about Jesus. We don’t know if it is going to prosper or not – God does, so lets trust Him.