“Many things about tomorrow, I may not understand but I know who holds tomorrow and I know He holds my hand.” These words are from the chorus of the song, “I don’t know about tomorrow.” They urge us to trust God, and to live in and for Him. If we are to make the most of life, we must act even though we may not fully know exactly what the outcome of our action may bring. We have established that life is unpredictable, even for believers. Things do not always happen in ways that we want them to happen. But we must hold on firmly to the Lord and trust Him regardless of what the future may hold. This enables us to worship and serve God even in the most trying circumstance of life. Spiritual wisdom in Christian living calls for courage and commitment more than caution. This is, in essence, the call of Ecclesiastes 11. In this chapter, we hear the call to live boldly for the Lord despite the uncertainty of life. We, believers in the Lord, should not allow the unpredictability of life to prevent us from courageously endeavoring the faith journey with the Lord.
In verses 1-2, the command is to “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.” In poetic language, we are called to invest our resources. For us Christians, we must invest in the eternal Kingdom even though we may not clearly see the result immediately. Here is a call to generously invest into the Kingdom of God, whether it be time, money or talents. We are to cast and to give, an action that will require effort and time. The result may not be immediately apparent. But the efforts, time and resources put into the Kingdom’s work will yield the result that will far surpass expectation. Besides we do not know when the opportunity will be terminated. Not knowing what will happen tomorrow should not prevent us from working harder. In fact, it should goad us to work harder. In verse 2, the portion of seven represents giving completely to the task, and eight suggests that we should exceed in giving our best.
To “Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth” can also be a call to be far-sighted and to expand one’s horizon. We are not to put all your effort in one basket only, we should widen our scope and explore other equally profitable ventures and opportunities. So long as there are opportunities we should not shrink back, we should seize the moment. Procrastination kills opportunity. This is true of the Kingdom’s work. Opportunity may not knock at our door a second time. To wait for the perfect condition to do God’s work is foolhardy. It may cause us to wait forever without moving our finger.
Verses 3-4 warn us of what can happen if we delay and fail to act. Here we are told that “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.” Here is the picture of a farmer. He stands there and looks at the field that he needs to sow. He observes the cloud and can see that rain is about to fall. And he can also see that a tree has fallen and remains in the place where it had fallen. The impending rain and the fallen tree are outside of his control, he can’t do a thing ab0ut them. What is within his control is the sowing and harvesting that he can go about doing. But he allows the impending rain and the fallen tree to dissuade him into working. And so long as he rationalizes and not gets down to work, he will accomplish nothing. In much the same way if we keep giving reasons why we can’t serve the Lord now and not start serving we will accomplish nothing for Him.
Don’t watch and wait for a better condition. They say “Time and tide wait for no man.” We should not allow our mind to conjure up all the difficulties, and imagine that there will be a perfect condition to do God’s work, while the opportunity passes us by. If we want to walk on water, like the Apostle Peter, we need to get out of our boat. Let’s get involved and pursue our calling. Join a cell, enroll in a ministry, evangelize and pray and actively invest in His Kingdom. Let us be the light of Christ everywhere we go. Let’s get to work!
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