"God's Portion"
God giveth
To all men who
Sow upon the earth
Bread and sustenance
That they may rejoice
In all their years
And walk this way or that.
To the investor
Who regards the evil
Upon the land
God says: "Give a portion,"
To seven, and eight,
Protect your returns
With diversity.
To the pessimist
Who says "the clouds be full of rain,
They will empty themselves
Upon the earth,"
God says: "Give a portion,"
That you might protect yourself
From chance.
To the fearful
Who observes the wind
That howls fiercely
Or dark clouds that loom,
God says: "Give a portion, "
That ye may sow your seed
And reap a harvest.
To the builder amongst men who wonders
How an embryo's bones do grow, or
To the leader of men who wonders
How the way of the spirit doest lead,
God says: "Give a portion,"
That you knoweth the works
Of God who maketh all.
To the faithful believers
Who share the bread of life,
God says, "Give a portion,"
Both morning and night that ye
might prosper in either.
To he whom has lived many years
And doth rejoice in them all,
God says, " Give a portion,"
That ye may remember
your many days of
darkness and vanity.
To the young man who doth
Walk in the ways of his heart
And in the sight of his eyes
God says: "Give a portion,"
That ye may be warned
Of God's judgment.
To the sorrowful
Who have known
Only the evil of childhood vanity
God says, "Give a portion,"
That thy sorrow might
be removed from thine heart.
To those who give of
The bread they receive,
God says, Man does not live
by bread alone.
Taste the sweetness
Of his bread lightened by His spirit.
Let thine eyes behold
The pleasantness of his sun.
Now when I receive of my daily bread
I am quick to tithe and portion God's part.
For I know that in giving a portion away
I will find his love sketched on my heart.
Linda Conkey Shaw copyright July 12, 2010
Words and Phrases
vs 1 Cast they bread - Take a chance, Share thy profits, Go fishing, Help others. Believe that your good deeds will ultimately be for your good.
vs 1 upon the waters - I always associate waters with emotion. upon the waters would be upon the living waters of my fellow man. So to cast my bread upon the waters would be to take my profit and share it with others who are in need.
vs 2 give a portion - share your wealth, not all of your wealth, but some. Be sure to not keep it all to yourself.
vs 2 to seven and also to eight - I think it is important to see that he says to share with seven and eight. Diversity is important. If you are going to share your bread (upon the water) be sure to do so with those with many different needs. Be sure to not put all your eggs in one basket. Invest your time, talents, profits well. The best investments are the diversified sharing with others
vs 3 if the clouds be full of rain - you will certainly have prosperity in your investment,
but even with clouds full of rain, your investment involves the risk of too much rain.
vs 3 in the place where the tree falleth - chance. No matter what you invest in, there is not certainty. Things happen by chance such as a tree falling. We are not in control of what happens once we let go of our profits and share them. They are not given to helping others for the same reason that you would invest in a stock market. Investing in people involves greater risks and chance. So once you share let it go. As verse one said, it will come back to you.
vs 4 He that observeth the wind - Those who stand and watch the wind will not sow seeds for fear that their seeds will not find root. There will always be a level of risk, but we must learn to trust in what we cannot see and in God's greater plan. We must have faith.
vs 5 knowest not the ways of the spirit - God's ways are not our ways. We are dependent upon the physical nature of life for sustenance and survival, so our ways have a different purpose and perspective. God is not dependent upon these things so his ways are different. We cannot know all that he knows, such as how the bones grow in the womb
vs 6 in the morning sow thy seed - It is important when we live God's faith, that we learn to sow (cast) our seed of faith in the morning. If we wait until the evening we have lost the opportunity to know what he would have taught us that day. We should read our scriptures in the morning, so that God's faith can work on us throughout the day.
vs 6 in the evening withhold not thy hand - As the day progresses and we are made aware of our faith and how it grows within us from the morning, be sure to share thy hand with others. Give of your profits, your faith, and learn to show others how God has given back to you.
vs 6 knowest not whether shall prosper - you don't know how God's hand will manifest itself in your life. You don't understand how God's love will change your life or where your investments will come from. You don't understand how God will bring your faith back to you full circle
vs 7 truly the light is sweet - God's love. Faith in God is a beautiful thing to behold. When we cast our bread and have it returned to us full fold, we behold his light and the sweetness it brings to our soul. When we understand the blessings of "coincidences" and how our good karma is returned to us. When we see how life is not about obtaining physical blessings but real life comes in the sharing of them.
vs 7 eyes to behold the sun - in our lives of physical hardships where we are dependent upon the rain, the wind, the falling of trees to be in our favor, where the earth holds no predictability, it is a beautiful thing to see how the sun shines upon our life in good providence, not so that we may have for ourselves, but so that we can watch what we share with others return itself full back unto us. When we are kind, we receive kindness. When we share our good fortune with others in a kindly manner, we are able to behold the sun... and have our bread return unto us "in a few days'.
vs 8 remember the days of darkness - Life is full of vanity. If we become to accustomed to God's love and light in our lives we tend to forget the darkness that we had before. By remembering the darkness we are assured to remember to share with others, to love others, to testify to others of our story, of how God bore us up and gave us light in the darkest of our days.
vs 9 God will bring thee unto judgment - Rejoice in thy youth and know that you will receive judgment for your days upon the earth. Enjoy your youth, your freedom, but remember to share your good fortune with others because you (even the youth) will stand before God and have to recount they days of your vanity and how you shared your good fortune with others.
Live a Christian Life.
vs 10 remove sorrow from your heart - you have no need to sorrow if you will live a life of faith. You have no need for sadness if you will share your good fortune with others and let it be returned to you. You have no need of sorrow if you will let go of your vanity and help those who are in need for it will bring you light, and the sun (God's love) will shine upon you.
vs 10 put away evil from your flesh - evil comes when we think only of ourselves and our own profits. Evil comes when we think only of vain things and not of God's word. We put evil away from us when we share our good fortune with others and in our youth learn to live by faith.
vs 10 childhood and youth are vanity - We learn the ways of selfishness in our youth and childhood. We must learn in our youth rather to serve others and to trust in God.
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