“Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back.” Ecclesiastes 11:1 (NRSV)
A colleague recently gave me a copy of a letter C.S. Lewis wrote in response to someone admiring his work. “It is always cheering to know one’s bottle with a message in it has found land.” I couldn’t help but think what an apt description for those who write! We put our words in bottles of books or blogs, and in faith pray our communiqué finds fertile soil. But “bottles” come in as many shapes and sizes as the messages they contain...
Musicians compose their opuses; photographers snatch life glimpses; painters make a blank canvas come alive. Beyond artists, mothers and fathers train children. Teachers impart their expertise; contractors bid jobs; preachers deliver sermons. All hope their message will “land.”
Yet, isn’t each individual life a message in a bottle? We have been cast from our mothers’ wombs, custom-made, to tell a unique story. Yours. Mine. No matter how far the culture trends, our lives cannot be squeezed into a hashtag. We were made for so much more. What we do with our message matters.
Don’t be deceived into thinking your life is insignificant.
The power of your story — your bottled message — cannot be measured by humanity’s estimation of meaning. God has created you with purpose. Don’t shrink back from letting Him form the message He has designed for you to send. Cast it out in faith, and when it returns after many days, you will find it to be — in Lewis’ words — quite “cheering.”
Father, thank You for giving us the privilege of carrying Your message to a world in need. Help us be faithful to cast it out in whatever way You call us to. Amen.
Take Action
Take inventory of the gifts God has given you. Then commit to using them in increasing measure for His glory.