Genesis 1:26-31
Leonardo DaVinci loved his work – he was passionate about realism and detail; you can see this passion with his copious amounts of notebooks and observations. They’re a treasure trove of resources for many other artists whom he inspired. And that was just the beginning; since then, people have been inspired and sought to emulate DaVinci’s work and process – all because his love for the work led him to propagate it to others. Love drives us to reproduce.
Reproduction is the logical conclusion of deep love. For example, deep love for a spouse would logically lead to children. Deep love for art leads to developing future artists. Deep love for our Savior leads to one conclusion too: spiritual reproduction; disciples making disciples who make disciples. Our spiritual health check this week offers one very potent litmus test of your spiritual condition. Are you reproducing disciples? Are people who see your life turning towards God as Matt 5:16 says? Where does your love lie?
Love Drove Creation
I was surprised while studying this passage to ponder the question: “Why did He create?” What drove God to create? He was existing in perfect unity in the Trinity and was yet driven towards more. He desired to create. I imagine that most (if not all) healthy married couples come to that point at some time – their love for each other is wonderful, but they want to expand, to grow their love; so they reproduce it – create people out of that love for each other. It would be nice if scripture gave us a direct answer to this question of why—but it’s there—and can be found in v26 – the image of God.
What is the image of God? No amount of sermons, series, or Bible studies could give a complete answer on that question, but maybe a piece of that puzzle. Look in the text; the pinnacle act of creation is in the arrival of humanity and what makes us that pinnacle is our being made in the image of God. Multiplication, or reproduction, of course, is not distinct to humanity, so it’s not the fact that we reproduce that would be part of the image of God, but more the “why”, which we can find by understanding the depth of God’s character found in 1 John 4:7-8: God is love. Love is so central to His being that you cannot describe God without it. With God being love, we can therefore understand God’s choice to create as being done out of love. Love drove creation. God desired to create out of the fullness of His love. This is NOT the totality of what it means to be in the image of God, but is part of it—we reproduce because of love; animals do so instinctively, but humans out of desire and love.
Love Drives Reproduction
Back to the command in v28 – be fruitful and multiply. God’s first command is repeated throughout the whole of the Bible. It is the single most basic and most important response we have to love – to His love. This command was repeated to Noah directly and drives well beyond him. He promised Abraham that He would give him a family that outnumbers the sand on the seashore so that he could be a reproductive blessing on the whole world. When Philip first met Jesus in John 1, his immediate response was to go and get Nathanael. Jesus in Matthew 28 said “Go and make disciples of all nations…” Love drives us to reproduce. The more we experience God’s love for us, the more we desire to tell others and thus make disciples who make disciples. Now—God did create physical reproduction to work in a similar fashion, but please note that this is not today’s point; the more of God’s love in us, the more we will desire to share His love with others and thus fulfill Matt 28:19 – making disciples who make disciples and so on.
Next Steps
The question is, how taken are you by God’s love? AB Simpson was so driven by love that he went to the NY docks everyday to witness to the newly arriving (and super poor) immigrants. Are you driven to tell others about Jesus?
- Don’t be afraid, engage with God and rest in perfect love (1 John 4:18).
- Participate in your harvest field – who can you let watch your life that needs Jesus?
- Engage in discipling activities where love can grow with others – 1-1 relationships with your Paul, Barnabas, and Timothy friends.
I wrote a book once – it killed my sleep. I did it because I loved doing it, but I moved on. I was driven to my first love – God and His mission for me. Love drives reproduction. Disciples who make disciples are disciples who have experienced God’s love. What are you reproducing?
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