Born to Reproduce

As many of you know, one of my running jokes at Graystone Church is that our growth strategy is to reproduce physically--have more babies (biological growth). After all, God's first instruction in the Bible is to "be fruitful and multiply". Well, no one can say that the Pastors of Graystone do not practice what we preach. All four Pastors' wives are currently pregnant. Tiffany is due in April (but Cohen may come sooner), Jennifer in June, Melinda in August, and Erin in November. Please continue to pray with me for healthy moms and babies. And if you do not want to get pregnant, you might want to bring your own "bottled water" when you come to Graystone.

Well, not only has God instructed us to reproduce physically, but he has called up to reproduce spiritually. In fact, every Christian has been "born again" and he/she has been "born to reproduce". Just as each person grows to physical maturity to the point of reproduction, so God wants us to grow to spiritual maturity to the point of spiritual reproduction. Just as physically one day (and not any day soon), I hope to be a grandfather and eventually a great grandfather, I am already a spiritual father, grandfather, great grandfather, and so forth. God wants us to reproduce spiritually and then help that person, a new babe in Christ, grow to spiritual maturity. We are to "Feed God's Sheep" and help that person grow to the point where he/she can reproduce spiritually and repeat the process. This is the principle of multiplication and God's plan to reach the world for Jesus Christ.

So, are you reproducing your life spiritually? Do you have sons or daughters in the faith? Are you a spiritual grandparent or great grandparent? If someone is NOT reproducing physically, it is because of one of three things. First, he/she is not married. In order to reproduce physically, you should first be married and then have union with your spouse. (I'm not going to go into any more detail here.) This is a truth which Christians need to grasp with reference to spiritual reproduction. When a person becomes a child of God, he/she needs to live in union with Jesus Christ if he/she is going to bring others to Jesus.

Another factor that can hinder reproduction is disease or impairment to some part of the body that is needed for reproductive purposes. In the spiritual realm, sin is the disease that can keep one from reaching others for Christ.

One other thing that can keep people from having children is immaturity. God in his wisdom saw to it that little children cannot have babies. A little boy must first grow to sufficient maturity to be able to earn a living, and a little girl must be old enough to care for a baby. A new Christian needs to grow to spiritual maturity to the point where he/she can reproduce spiritually. And spiritual maturity is not based on "head knowledge" but OBEDIENCE to Christ. If we are obedient to Christ, we will reproduce spiritually, and we will be proud parents, grandparents, and great grandparents.