The writer or teacher in Ecclesiastes 11:1 says, “Cast your bread upon the waters and after many days you will find it again.” Have you ever done that? Have you ever noticed anyone else doing it? Have you been to the pier in White Rock and noticed people tossing loaves of bread into the water or maybe you have seen them trying to get it back after a few days. Likely what you will get if you throw a loaf of bread on the water is a soggy loaf and some happy ducks and fish. You are not likely to get any of it back. So what is the teacher telling us in this wise saying?
The picture more likely is one of a farmer throwing out seed onto a swampy patch of farmland. The seed will sink, germinate and grow, and in time the farmer will go back to reap the harvest of his generous seeding. The wise man of Ecclesiastes is suggesting to us that we too be generous with the resources that we have and it too will come back to us in some way.
We are sometimes reluctant to give generously because we wonder if someone is going to make good use of our donations. Pastor Len Riemersma says, “You know how this works. Even if we are generous enough to give, we still want to make sure we know everything about where it is going. Do the recipients deserve the gift, are they doing their part, are they a legitimate cause, are they expressing enough thanks, and do they know we are the ones who gave them this gift? It seems our giving has so many strings attached that it isn’t really giving anymore. Solomon says be generous and give as if you are throwing bread upon the waters. Then he adds, after you do this watch for the blessings. Solomon says, “after many days you will find it again.” This is a beautiful promise. When you give in the true spirit of giving it will come back to you. We have all experienced this. You did something nice and shortly afterwards something unexpectedly happens to bless you.”
Something may or may not happen to you but you can rest assured that the gift you give will not be in vain. In particular, when thinking about our 250 @ $250 campaign to raise money for a child’s education in Kabala, Sierra Leone or Choluteca, Honduras, you can be confident that it will yield a rich harvest. The seeds of Christian Education that we are casting upon the water will take root in a child who has that much better of a chance of being a useful and productive person in his/her society, with an education, with literacy, with skills that will give for a lifetime.
And who knows what else might come back to you upon the waters.
Global Partners