Advance Your Cast

Although I do not care to fish, casting or throwing out the line is fun! I suppose my idea of fishing if to cast then kindly hand the fishing rod to Mr. Bill.

What does it mean to “cast your bread upon the waters?” My Papa used to fish with dough balls, but I’m fairly certain this isn’t what King Solomon was writing about in Ecclesiastes 11:1. Bible scholars have long considered a contemporary parallel for this metaphor but remain undecided. One interpretation refers to sharing our God-given resources with others. I don’t know statistics of recent years, but Americans continue to give to charitably. Something worth pondering, however, is the motive for giving: tax-deduction, emotion, guilt, etc.? Even though we’re commanded to care for the poor, the Christian’s motive should clearly be a charitable heart. There is reward to those who remember the poor and extend to them in bountiful portion. “Blessed is he that considereth the poor; the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth …” (Psalm 41:1-2a). Jim Elliot, martyred missionary, said: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Seems Jim [and Solomon] understood from Whom came all we have and that none of us will leave this world with any of it! I’ve watched Mr. Bill walk out chest-deep into the ocean to “advance” his cast beyond the sandbar where the bigger fish feed. Shamefully, I admit to an attitude of tightfistedness at times with what God has blessed me with – possessions, time, and opportunity. Christ is the model of compassion and service: “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand … “ (Mark 1:41). Let us advance our “casting” – go the distance, extend the full arm of mercy and know the reward in service to The King.