# 88 Bring Life, Not Death

The Book of Genesis Day 88 Ge 9:6 "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. 7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it." “And as for you,” I remember my parents or other authority figures in my early childhood years using a very similar phrase of warning for me, “As for you young man…..” (I think it happens a lot when you have an older brother) It usually came after some sort of punishment had been meted out to my brother, with the implication that I should be different, and if I wasn’t? Well, I saw what my brother’s bottom looked like, and the same was waiting for me, if I wasn’t careful. This is what was going on here between God and Noah. God just got done telling Noah that there would be violent men on this earth, and these violent men were to be dealt with severely. (verse 6) Noah was not to be like them. In fact he was to be just the opposite. Instead of ending lives violently , he was to be fruitful and multiply, bringing forth life abundantly! Do you see the contrast? One type sheds blood and destroys life, the other brings it forth! That’s what the people of God are called to do! Bring forth life! Others will seek to engage in a culture of death, but as for those in the righteous line of Noah, (Christians today) we are to bring forth what? LIFE! Somehow we have gotten the idea that large families are a curse. Out of a spirit of fear (and that’s what it is bottom line) we have done everything in our power to limit the size of our families. We have turned the blessing of God into a curse choosing to bring children forth sparingly and according to our appointed times and schedules. Many times unwittingly using birth control devices and pills that actually result in the death of another uniquely created individual. A God image bearing child! God has not called us to this culture of death! He has called us to be a culture of life! And it goes far beyond mere physical reproduction. We are also called to bring forth abundant spiritual life! (Go! Make disciples!) How do we do that? It starts by a complete yielding to the Lord Jesus Christ, and as human life is a possibility when husbands and wives yield to each other physically, so it is with spiritual life! Yield to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to bring forth that spiritual life as He works to do His will in our life through His Word. Remember, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2Ti 1:7) The soundest mind is the one that trusts God and His word, and it is this trust, this yielding that produces the power and love necessary for this life and beyond. Reflect: How can the spirit of fear be overcome? Pray: Lord, help me to trust more and more in Your Word, it truly is the most “reasonable” thing I can do!