Rev. Ebenezer Essuman Quarbo
“And God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” – Genesis 1:28.
The preceding verses 26 and 27, talk about God’s plan to create man in his own desired fashion while today’s text in verse 28 speaks on the actual declaration of the dominion mandate unto man by God as follows:
1.And God blessed them and said,
2.Be fruitful and multiply,
3.And fill the earth,
4.And subdue it,
5.And have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. With this declaration from the creator God himself, one then can say that mankind is indeed blessed beyond curse.
So, what does it mean to be fruitful and what does it take to achieve fruitfulness? In order not to confuse anyone with big and deep theological terms, I just want to begin with what we all know: the life of any fruit bearing tree, example, coconut, mango or avocado pear. The tree by its seed or seedling is by nature embedded with the capacity to grow and produce others after its exact likeness. That is the first aspect of fruitfulness.
However, being fruitful does not end at simply bearing fruit. The most important aspect is for the fruit born by the plants to have the expected impact on human lives which it is meant to serve. If the tree bears so much fruit yet is not accessible by humans who must be benefactors, it is useless.
Again, if the fruit is accessible but bitter or sour and for that matter, cannot be eaten by humans for its benefits to be derived, it is useless as well.
Therefore, being fruitful is not merely bearing any kind of fruit at all for the mere sake of bearing fruit or producing something but rather bearing or producing an edible fruit that satisfies people’s needs and nourishes them to grow better in a way that they will never have, without the help of this fruit.
Likewise, the fruitfulness of man which God pronounced in his blessing of humanity when he declared the dominion mandate, must also impact on the lives of the people around him or her.
He who is indeed blessed of God and bearing fruits because of that blessing, must be accessible at least by the people around him but NOT LIMITED TO THEM.
There are those whose “fruits or riches” cannot be even tasted by their immediate families let alone to be eaten. It’s only meant for outsiders and that is a sign of danger.
There are those who limit the impact of their fruits on their families and close circles alone, and that is a sign of selfishness. Discard it.
Like the mango or orange tree in the open space, which everybody including strangers pluck to eat, so is the fruitfulness mandate God pronounced on humanity. Everyone who eats its fruits praises it and gives thanks to it as a planter and maker.
As trees themselves do not eat of their fruits and rivers do not drink of their own water, so it is to be fruitful as declared by God.
However, for humans, we must enjoy part of our fruits but to remember that WE ARE BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING UNTO OTHERS AND NOT FOR OURSELVES ALONE.
By the above explanation, the question of what it takes to be fruitful is the original seed of God embedded in the plant. So, it takes God himself who created the plant and its seed to make one fruitful. For humans, since our very essence is God, who made us, we cannot even exist or live without God who made us, let alone being fruitful. Let us therefore draw Closer to God willingly else we shall be drawn to him by the harsh circumstances of life’s reality which may not be a pleasant one. But even if this does not happen while alive, we shall be drawn before his judgment throne alas. May wisdom helps us.
It is of greatest importance to know that, BY EXTENDING OUR FRUITS TO IMPACT OTHERS, WE DOMINEER THE FORCES OF GREED, SELFISHNESS, HUNGER, ANGER, CRIME, HATRED, WAR, DEATH AND ALL POWERS THAT MILITATE AGAINST HUMAN WELL BEING.
May God almighty shine his countenance upon us to make us realize and understand the task placed on us as he blesses us to be fruitful in multiples. Amen.
(The writer is the Minister in-charge of the Mount Olivet Methodist Society, Atwima Yabi, Nsema Circuit, Kumasi)
