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God blessed them and said to them “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the face of the earth.  In Gen1:28  

The first instruction given to Adam and Eve at creation after being blessed by the creator, was for them to increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it. Interestingly, there is no mention of Adam and Eve being given some form of training on how to do what they were being asked to do. Indeed, there were no schools or colleges as yet they could enroll into and get trained on agriculture or environmental protection or marine biology or any of disciplines they would need. One would then dare ask, “How on earth were they going to do it?” “Did the Lord err by giving an instruction he had not made provision for?” 

Graciously, the Lord not only calls us to be fruitful, increase and fill the earth, but He also provides us with the means to do so.

In the Gospel of John chapter 15:4-7 Christ says “Remain in me, as I also 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 you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
From this scripture, we get both:

1. The expectation to grow.
2. The provision of the ability to fulfill that expectation.

Christ presents himself as the source of the very growth he expects of us. Indeed, throughout the Scriptures, the Lord demonstrates his power by working through people to make them fruitful sometimes even when natural circumstance would have them be unfruitful. The book of Genesis has a number of them and we will look into two of them: Isaac and Joseph. 

As they walked in obedience and trust, both Isaac, and Joseph prospered wherever they went and in whatever they did. They grew and flourished in situations that they ordinarily should have withered and dried up. 
i.In Genesis 26:12, ‘Isaac planted crops in the land during a time of drought and in the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him.’ The drought was so severe that no one else harvested anything that year demonstrating God’s unmerited favor. The same unmerited favor through which he has made us his children when we believe.
ii. And from Genesis 37 to 50, we see God at work in the life of Joseph. From his father’s house to the Egyptian prison and Pharaoh’s courts, the Lord was at work in his life. He fruitful, grew and multiplied by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion:
The command to be fruitful is God ordained and through His divine power, he has given us everything we need to be fruitful. As a Christian, growth in every aspect of my life is the most clear demonstration of the Lord’s working therein.  
Are you growing?

By Paul Machira, All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi.