“God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful
and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish
of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves
upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28, New
Revised Standard Version).
Genesis 1:28. The Biblical mandate humanity was given
in this creation narrative. The Biblical mandate that is so often used to tell
Christians why they must have kids. Why it is the duty of good married couples
to procreate. This verse has plagued many couples who do not feel a calling to
have children or may not be able to have children. This verse has been both a
blessing and a curse to people, but I wonder if we have missed the point. Have
we viewed this passage in a simplistic way by limiting it to procreation?
I am not in any way saying procreation is not a good
and godly thing, but what is truly its purpose? Are we just meant to populate
the earth and then would that not make it irrelevant now in our overpopulated
world? Or is the purpose to represent the church as people of the Kingdom. When
we make a family we are making little Kingdoms. Alexander Schmemman in his book
For the Life of the World: Sacraments and
Orthodoxy says, “Family is a big part of the sacrament of matrimony because
each family is a kingdom, a little church, and therefore a sacrament of a way
to the Kingdom (Kindle loc. 1293).The purpose of having a family is to be
little churches, but those little churches are not meant to be alone. Those
churches are called to minister in their context and also gather together with
other churches or families.
In these gatherings we can share what our church has
done and equip new people to go out and start their own churches. That does not
mean that everyone must go out and have kids to start a family. What it means
is that people should go out and be the church. When people start and multiply
churches it is the same as starting a family. If we are truly being the church
we should be like a family. When we equip and send people out we have
reproduced people to go out and be a family in a context we could never reach.
Viewing procreation as a means of creating little
churches allows us to see this passage of Scripture in a larger more meaningful
way. I wonder if when God created humankind in His image and gave us this
command if it was more of a command to be
the church. God is calling his people to go out and build the kingdom. We see
this mandate all throughout Scripture and we are reminded of it through the
words of Jesus in the New Testament when he says, "Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have
commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age"
(Matthew 28:19-20, NRSV). Jesus is
not calling us to something new. This is not a radical new lifestyle. This is
showing us what He intended from the beginning. So we are all--married, single,
celibate--called to make disciples, to multiply and fill the earth with the
love of God which ushers in the Kingdom.
The point of the Church is not to make one little
group and leave it in that community. The point of the Church is to equip and
empower others in your group to start other groups. If we are to be the Body of
Christ, we must be allow the Spirit to work in us and fill us with fruits of
love, joy, peace, patience, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
When these fruits are present in our lives it will naturally lead us to go and
multiply the Church. To lead others into the life giving freedom of the Kingdom
of God.
Sources:
Schmemann,
Alexander. For the Life of the World:
Sacraments and Orthodoxy. Crewstwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary, 2000.
Print.
