Be Fruitful and Multiply

In the book of Genesis we find the original first family and the plan for all future descendants. If you want to know how to raise a family then just read Genesis! The very first words, perhaps the very first commandment given to mankind explains God’s will for the family. “And God blessed them, and said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth,” Genesis 1:28. These overlooked words are the key to a fantastic family. 

The Lord didn’t declare that the family must have a budget or fire escape plan. He originally told them to “be fruitful and multiply.” This was the purpose of family in the Garden and this is the purpose of family today.

Note that God told them to ‘be fruitful’ before He told them to ‘multiply.’ Growth for the sake of growth is not a good thing. Life is not all about numbers and material possessions. Think of a woman with a large growth in her stomach. This could be a child or this growth could be a huge tumor. Growth does not always equal health. Yet, healthy things grow naturally. A tree that receives water and sunlight will grow on its own. This is the same with our families. Growth occurs as fruit abounds.

When God instructed Adam and Eve to be fruitful, He used the word “parah.” This Hebrew term means to “grow, increase, bear fruit like a vine, bring forth, to open.” This word parah is used many times throughout the Scriptures in reference to the fruit of a vine. The family is not the vine, but is to produce life and goodness from the vine. This can be better understood when you reference the words of Jesus. “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing,” John 15:4-5.

How can you lead your family to grow in the true vine?