THE MANDATE OF FRUITFULNESS

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “BE FRUITFUL and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it…” – Genesis 1:28a

Welcome to March, our month of GRACE for FRUITFULNESS. Fruitfulness is a divine Command. We derive our desire for fruitfulness from God’s command to our spirit at creation. His primary instruction and mandate to humanity was “BE FRUITFUL…” (Gen.1:28a). It is not surprising therefore, that one of the utmost longings of every human being is to be fruitful – biologically and otherwise.

The theme of fruitfulness and the related concept of multiplication are repeated all through the book of Genesis:

• So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, “BE FRUITFUL and MULTIPLY, and fill the earth” (Gen.9:1)
• God repeated: “And as for you, BE FRUITFUL and MULTIPLY; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and MULTIPLY in it” (Gen.9:7)
• God told Abraham: “And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will MAKE HIM FRUITFUL, and will MULTIPLY HIM exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation” (Gen.17:20).
• Isaac prayed for Jacob: “May God Almighty bless you, and MAKE YOU FRUITFUL and MULTIPLY you, that you may be an assembly of peoples” (Gen.28:3).
• To Jacob, God said: “…I am God Almighty. BE FRUITFUL and MULTIPLY; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body (Gen.35:11).
• Jacob recalled God’s promises before Joseph: “And said unto me, Behold, I will MAKE YOU FRUITFUL and MULTIPLY YOU, and I will make of you a multitude of people…” (Gen.48:4a).

To be fruitful means to be productive with what God has given you. FRUIT infers the existence of SEED. Therefore fruitfulness is the potential destiny of every seed. Any seed that does not result in fruit is a wasted potential. The above scriptures however indicate that Fruitfulness has both divine and human dimensions and responsibilities. On one hand, God commands – “Be fruitful and multiply…” On the other hand, He says, “I will make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly…” Praise God, His Word empowers us to fulfil and obey His Mandate. May the Lord grant us wisdom to understand, obey, and appropriate this mandate of fruitfulness in Jesus name.