Text: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days” (Eccl 11:1, ESV).
Context, Context, Context: Solomon is near his ending of the Book of Ecclesiastes, one of the books of Wisdom Literature in the Old Testament. The last two chapters of Ecclesiastes (11-12) are comprised of a smattering of proverbs, phrases, and sentences like the one referenced above.
The main issue at stake in Ecclesiastes 11:1 is the issue of faithfulness in work/labor. Specifically, it is a call to work with faithfulness and diligence, even and especially when we don’t see immediate results. Oftentimes the return on investment remains hidden to us, perhaps for a very long time. How, then, do we not lose hope in the process? That’s the related issue.
I shared with the saints this past Sunday as the church gathered that over my many years of ministry, I have given, loaned, and purchased countless books on spiritual discipleship, apologetics, theology, history, counseling, etc. for myriad Soldiers and Civilians. Very often I received no feedback from those to whom I gifted the items. Call me old-fashioned, but a little gratitude goes a long way with me. I don’t ask for much, but a “Thank you” means a great deal to me. Anyway, I could feel all down about the whole matter, pout, and just take my toys and go home, so to speak. But Christianity does not give me that option. It calls me, instead, to labor in hope. Here’s the way that idea is expressed later in Scripture: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58, ESV).
Encouragement: Steadfast, immovable, always abounding. Those are adjectives and adverbial modifiers (sorry, I was an English major) that describe the spirit with which we’re to be engaged in ministry. If we look for kudos from the crowds, we may not get them. We’re to give but not expect reward. We’re to labor “in the work of the Lord.” Why? Because if it’s done for the right audience (God), we are already more than conquerors.
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