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Lyrics:
Surrender, a word that we don’t understand
How are we to get ahead when we have empty hands?
We fight for what will fade
We cling to that from which we’re saved
And soon we’ll wake to find
We’ve naught but fists of sand
What good is the whole world
If you’ve no soul? (Mark 8:36)
Cast your bread upon the water’s edge
And you will find the bread of Life (John 6:35)
Cast your bread
Our bread seems small but when it’s broken it will feed
A multitude of thousands, hungry and in need (Mark 6:30-44)
If we want to live
Our life is something we must give (Mark 8:35)
Just like kernels of wheat
die to bare forth seeds (John 12:24)
Lord it’s in your hands now
As it’s always been
Cast your bread upon the water’s edge
And you will find the bread of Life
Break your bread and pass with open hands
And you will find the bread of Life
How are we to get ahead when we have empty hands?
Cast your bread upon the water’s edge
And you will find the bread of Life
Cast your bread
Cast your bread
And you will find
The bread of Life
Behind the Song:
"Years ago when we were writing for Wake Up, O Sleeper, I was intrigued by Ecclesiastes 11:1: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.” (NIV) I had no idea what it meant, but I felt like it was important. I read lots of commentaries on the verse, and most of them had a similar interpretation—it is referring to business investments. While this may be the most accurate interpretation based on the original language, it just didn’t satisfy me. I talked to my pastor and mentor, Kevin Minchey, about it, and instead of just telling me what he thought, he encouraged me to search the scriptures and see what the images of bread and water mean throughout the Bible.
I discovered a lot. The story of Moses being put on the water as an infant, the reoccurring references to bread as sustenance, the story of Jesus feeding 5,000+ people with two fish and five loaves of bread, and Christ’s referring to himself as the bread of life. I prayed and pondered and came up with my own interpretation of Ecclesiastes 11:1, and I wrote some lyrics about it in a song that we never recorded. I never forgot about what God taught me through this verse, and I have been waiting for a chance to use it in a song again. I changed the lyrics quite a bit for this song, but the idea is the same.My understanding is that bread is symbolic for our necessities, and our nature is to scramble for these things and cling to them when we get them. Christ calls us to give. He doesn’t just call us to give when it makes sense. What is the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 with two fish and five loaves of bread telling us? I think it’s telling us that God doesn’t need a lot of resources to meet a lot of needs. He doesn’t need things to make sense to us. It doesn’t make sense to us to give away our stuff and still be taken care of, but throughout the scriptures, we’re told to give and trust God to take care of us. So, what happens when we cast our bread on the waters? Let’s find out together." - Mark Nicks (Cool Hand Luke)
Ecclesiastes 11:1
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