Genesis 1:27-30
God created human beings; he
created them godlike, Reflecting God’s nature.He created them male and
female. God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every
living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
Then God said,
“I’ve given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth and every kind
of fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food. To all animals and
all birds, everything that moves and breathes, I give whatever grows out
of the ground for food.” And there it was.
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
When my mother was placed on
Hospice and returned back to her house, two of her husband’s daughters
(who both live in Tennessee) – Janet and Suzanne - came to help with her
care. Both women are nurses, and their expertise was greatly
appreciated. Janet’s husband, Craig, accompanied her…as well as their
daughter, Sara, who was still on winter break from college. Almost upon
their arrival, Janet and Craig sat down and made a menu plan. Then off
to the store Craig went.
Craig returned with multiple sacks of
groceries, and the kitchen became a beehive of activity. He browned
hamburger meat and chicken, chopped and sautéed vegetables, and boiled
pasta. He and Janet even baked two delicious chocolate “Texas Sheet
Cakes!” In short, Craig created meals to sustain us for the next several
days. Along with dishes generously provided by friends of my mother,
we ate like kings and queens.
The beautiful thig about all of
this is that my sister, Greg and I did not have to do a thing. All of
our needs were met as we focused on caring for Mother and tending to
other important business. We knew that we would be physically fed. But
we were “fed” in other ways, also, as people reached out to provide for
all of our needs as best they could. We were encouraged, nurtured, and
prayed over. Cards, flowers, phone calls and countless electronic
messages reminded us to “hang in there”…”get some rest”…and “be sure to
remember to breathe.” All that we needed in that moment was provided.
There
is a wonderful old hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness” – written in 1925
by Thomas Chisholm. One line of the chorus says…”All I have needed, Thy
hand hath provided.” Truly, God provides all that we need, in every
circumstance. God provided for our needs in ways I cannot even describe
in the last two months…and I know that He will continue to do so. His
command to us is to go…to do… to represent Him as good
stewards of all that His hand hath provided…to “feed His sheep” in every
sense of the word.
Look around…who needs you? Where do you need
to use what God has provided to “prosper and reproduce?” This is about
more than creating future generations. God wants us to be good
stewards of ALL of His gifts…and to multiply His kingdom by sharing His
love, grace, kindness and mercy with others so that they want to belong
to Him, also. What opportunities lie before you to accomplish this goal
with whatever means God has equipped you?
Isn’t it time we got
busy fulfilling the commands of Genesis 1? How will you feed the sheep
of Jesus? When and where will you “prosper and reproduce” in His name?
Don’t you think it’s time to decide?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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