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Produce

One of the blessings of serving at Anchor House is I get to visit quite a few churches. One of the downfalls is that I get the messages intermixed from week to week. I show up for a single Sunday and don't get the benefit of the continuity of hearing an entire series. 

This week I decided to re-read the creation story. It has been one section of the Bible that has been a part of many of the sermons I've heard lately. The story of God making the land has captivated me. Genesis 1:9 we see the creation of land "And God said, 'Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.' And it was so." He created the land then put it to work.

God doesn't stop with creation, He continues with providing purpose. "Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so" (Genesis 1:11). The land isn't supposed to sit idle, it is called to be productive. It is called to give life. The vegetation creates food for the animals. It creates seeds to create more plants. The land was purposely created to sustain life and support other living things. The land had purpose.

Genesis tells us the God created man in His own likeness. We are made in his image. The land wasn't made in God's image, yet it has purpose. Being made in the creator's image, surely we don't lack purpose. Many of us walk around aimlessly and without purpose. Not realizing that from the beginning we were created with a purpose. 

In creation we were called to rule over all creating alongside God. After the fall, man was cast out of the garden, but given a purpose- working the ground which God had given. God has always provided us with purpose. 

In Jesus we again find purpose. He said, "Go and make disciples…" (Matthew 28:19). God provides purpose. "Tell my story," Jesus says, "bring others to me so that they may live a full life and they may produce fruit like you." Just like the land God created, we are to produce, be fruitful, and sustain other lives. 

Be blessed be a blessing,
Matt
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