Cast your bread upon the waters,
for you will find it after many days.
Give a portion to seven, or even to eight,
for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.
If the clouds are full of rain,
they empty themselves on the earth,
and if a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
He who observes the wind will not sow,
and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
-Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 (ESV)
1 comment:
This is my favorite passage in Ecclesiastes. I think it's a call to faithfulness. Cast your bread on the waters - throw caution to the wind! Maybe it means invest in maritime trade, or maybe it's a call to feed the ducks. But either way, I think it's a command to invest your resources in ventures that, on the face of it, are unlikely to bring a great return. Be generous today (verse 2), because who knows what will happen tomorrow. Sow and reap, and let the weather forecast take care of itself (verses 3-4). We're called to be faithful, not to produce great results. "In the morning, sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper..." What a fabulous response to cynicism.
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