As I read through the book of Genesis, my heart would speed up when I came across a woman’s name.  I was inspired by faith’s forefathers, but was eager to hear how women participated in establishing our faith foundation. 

These real women, ranging in personalities and talents, all desired to further the faith and contribute to a people who loved the Lord. But despite all their gifts, they all wanted the same thing- babies.

It was hard to read passages of women yearning for children as I personally do not desire children at this time. As a newlywed, I want to enjoy time with my husband and establish a strong team before adding more love into our family.  Name after name, I grew disappointed I could not relate to the women I read about in scripture and worse grew frustrated that I could not escape conversations about having children. 

It’s an honorable, holy desire to have children. In the beginning, we are called to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28 NIV). The origin story of our faith told in the book of Genesis is largely focused around building a family of faith- and building a family requires bringing up babies. 

But surely the very first guidance from God was not just to have children. And I like to think the early mothers desired children, certainly, but their greatest desire was to add to creation. 

It is possible the concise lines in scripture simply stating a woman’s desire for children was the easiest way for the Bible’s authors to sum up the longing women had to contribute to the creation of the world. 

These women wanted to create something new, fresh and full of potential. They wanted to personally see to the growth in creation, protect it like only mothers can, and add to the community working together to glorify God.  

I believe we are to read this first call from God, to be fruitful and multiply, as a call to live out the qualities of God’s spirit and invite others into the family of faith.  

Be Fruitful

God’s first command to be fruitful was a call to build families, but also to bear the fruit of the character of God. In the same way healthy, thriving plants are able to produce fruit, we should strive to live healthy, thriving lives that produce the good qualities of God.  

The first way we grow to be fruitful is by drawing near to God. The Psalms say the righteous are “like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season.” (Psalm 1:3 ESV) Just as a plant needs daily water to be healthy, we need a daily flow God’s mercy to be spiritually healthy. 

While there are many habits we can start and intentions we can set, we cannot cultivate the qualities of God with our own strength. Producing fruit is a gift we are given when we connect to God and rely on him for growth. 

When we live by the spirit, we produce fruit of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV). Our lives have a new sense of purpose when producing fruit and our days are lived more joyfully in step with our creator, who creates through us. 

Jesus said, “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 15:5 ESV

I am personally praying to produce more patience in my life. I imagine myself as a branch, an offshoot from the vine that gives life, that is able to soak up patience from the vine. I ask for patience and feel my patience grow stronger the same way a wilting plant grows stronger after watering. And it’s not just for my benefit, I end up producing bits of bite-sized fruits of patience others can taste. My prayer is that others don’t see me as a patient person, but a person who is able to display the patience of God. 

After all, we are called to be fruitful so that others can see the qualities of God on display. Jesus said we recognized the righteous by the fruit they bear (Matthew 7:20). It’s our responsibility to blossom with God’s goodness so others can see his goodness. 

Multiply

The call to be fruitful and multiply go hand in hand, often considered synonymous. But if the call to be fruitful is a call to cultivate the qualities of God, the call to multiply is a call to increase the number of believers. And I can’t help but notice the strategic sequence of God’s call: we are to be fruitful, establish quality first, then multiply, build quantity. 

Before his ascension to heaven, Jesus fished with his disciples.  In the familiar, intimate setting, the same place Jesus first called the disciples, he called them to a new goal- to be fishers of men (Matthew 4:19 ESV). 

To illustrate his point, Jesus told them to cast their nets to the other side of the boat. The disciples hauled in a large netful of fish, nearly too heavy to lift. This successful fishing trip is an example of the way God will guide us to the people we are to include in our community of faith.  

Today, the Holy Spirit guides us to multiply the body of believers. We see this illustrated in the book of Acts as the early church grew through the power of the Holy Spirit. “The Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47 ESV).  Their numbers continued to increase (Acts 9:31 ESV) and the word of the Lord continued to grow and be multiplied (Acts 12:24 ESV).

The early church didn’t need hype, publicity, recruitment or attractions to grow.  They stayed devoted to the things that were important-teaching, fellowship and prayer- and simply lived out the life God called them to live. Others noticed the difference God had in their lives, and saw the fruit they produced, and wanted to live fulfilled and fruitful as well. 

Their desire to grow was not to gain popularity or increase attendance. The early church multiplied because their heart desire was to make sure everyone was invited into the inclusive family of believers. They increased to create a vast network in which everyone could fellowship and contribute to the community. 

I am passionate about not only welcoming each and every person in faith, but in celebrating the gifts and talents each person can offer. I’m always thankful for a variety of believers who support each other and work together in different ways. As a big picture person, I rely on detail-oriented people to balance projects out. We work together hand in hand, very much like body parts that are “joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped.” When each part is working properly, “makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:16 ESV) 

I am confident I will be called to motherhood one day. But with this perspective, I know I am called to be fruitful and multiply each day:  to cultivate the beautiful qualities of God in my daily life to build up the body of believers in love.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Grace is a writer based in coastal Georgia. She invites readers to explore and wonder about the goodness of God and make their own faith discoveries. Her husband and cats cheer her on, swimming is her escape and cheese is her fuel.