God’s First Blessing gives Soul-Wellness

The first blessing God uttered in his Word is found in Genesis 1: 28 “Be fruitful and multiply.”  Claim this blessing, but think outside the box at the same time.  What does fruitfulness mean?

Certainly it means bearing offspring, have babies, and grandbabies, and keeping the human race going.

But it means more than that.  Fruitfulness is a spiritual construct as well.  How can we be fruitful in the spiritual realm?  

I believe that spiritual fruit manifests in three different ways:

1. Through bearing the fruit of the Spirit within us.  Galatians 5:22-23 talks about the many-facetted fruit of the Spirit.  Certainly, when the Holy Spirit has full sway within me, and I experience love, joy and peace, to name three of the nine sides of this complex fruit, I am blessed, and hopefully a blessing to others.

2.  Through the fruit of service to others.   The night before Jesus died, he took on the form of a servant, and washed his disciples feet.  He came as a servant to us and said,  “My Father will honor the one who serves. . . “ John 12:26.  We are created in the image of God, and thus we go out to be fruitful.  As God’s shadow,  we go out to serve.  In our service, there is divine fruit.

3.  Through sharing the Gospel of Christ so that others become believers. The fruit that will last are the saved souls of human beings.  Paul challenges us in Romans (10:14), “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”  Ask anyone who has had the privilege of leading a person to the Lord to describe his or her experience.  They will say, “I was so blessed!”