Be Fruitful to the World

“¹And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.’” – Genesis 9:1 (ESV)

Upon Noah and his family exiting the ark following the flood, God gave him a task to “fill the earth”. And that is what was done. We know this by our simple existence here in this world as God’s flood of the earth removed all others from it and left it to Noah and his family.

Now, Noah and his family filled the earth that they knew, the one that was where they were. He did not send His sons to the “Americas” to fill here, but he and his family filled the world they were in obedience to God and knew that God would do the rest.

I have to remember that it is my duty to “fill the earth” beginning with the world I am in. I believe that is one reason that I identify with the church vision of where we as a family attend. We long to see “A gospel movement that reaches every person in the hill country and is carried to the ends of the earth.” We are not being fruitful in all the earth, just our little corner of it and then it is carried further, allowing for our filling of the earth. It all starts with doing the work where we are.

I do believe that too often we do not recognize and realize the impact we make or can make due to our want to do the big thing. I have to remember to be fruitful where I am and do the work of the LORD here. I have to allow for God to work through me where I am and not ignore the need right in my backyard because I see a “bigger” more “visible” need in the yard over there.

God calls on me to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”. Even when calling on Noah, He called on him to start right where he was and do the work there. I am called to do the same, do the work in the world I am in.

What are you maybe not doing because you are looking to far away? Are you focused on making the big splash? What if you did the work where you are and filled the earth by starting in the world you are in?