Read more in this series: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4
Recap: The Greatest Question
I did a major rewrite of the first part of this series, so I encourage you to go back and read through the new material. Click here to read Part 1 - The Question That Matters Most.
In Part 1 we talked about the most important question anyone can ask: Who is God?
Who is God of my time? Who is God of my finances? Who is God of my eating habits? Who is God of my identity, my diet, and my sense of humor? Who is God of the music I listen to and the TV shows I watch? Who is God of my relationships? Who is God of my political views?
Everything in life comes down to this. If I am my own god, then all of life exists to serve me. The things I just mentioned must bend to my will.
That kind of thinking leads to offense. We are small, ineffectual gods. When anything defies our will, it only serves to highlight our powerlessness.
If, on the other hand, Jesus Christ is God, then everything in life exists to serve Him. Every person, every circumstance, every possible possession belongs to Him. If Jesus Christ is truly God, then He isn’t only God in a religious sense. He is the absolute Lord and Master of my money, my time, my friendships, my thoughts, my desires, my hobbies, my career—all of it. If Jesus Christ is God, then everything is His, and that leads us to the second greatest question.
What Do I Do With What He Has Given Me?
If Jesus Christ is God, then everything is His—and yet there are possessions, relationships, and decisions over which I hold some authority and influence. I earn income and decide how to spend it. I have children I’m responsible to teach. I have a wife to care for, a home to upkeep, and animals that rely on me for survival.
If all of those things belong to God, then what do I do with them?
The answer is found in Genesis 1.
Genesis 1:28 ESV - And 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 heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
The answer to the second greatest question is, “Be fruitful and multiply.”
Those are the first words God ever spoke to mankind. They are defining. They explain our purpose on this earth.
In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the master gave each of his servants talents according to their ability. Two of the servants multiplied what they were given, and when it came time to give it back to the master, the master was pleased. The wicked servant was the one who didn’t do anything with what he was given. He didn’t steal from the master, and he returned everything he had been given, but because he didn’t multiply what he had, the master was unhappy.
Our purpose on this life is to be fruitful and multiply everything we have. If Jesus has given me time, how can I make that time produce fruit? If He has given me money, how can I multiply that money to be used for His good purpose? If He has given me relationships, how can I care for those relationships so that they bear good fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? (Galatians 5:22-23)
It’s a matter of obedience. If Jesus Christ is God, then every choice we make matters to Him, because every choice we make affects the people, places, and things that belong to Him. Every choice we make is only right if it’s made in obedience to Him, and we are in obedience to Him when our thoughts, words, and actions bear good fruit.
Has He given us wisdom? How can we share that wisdom so that it can be multiplied throughout the earth? Can we write books? Make videos? Tell stories? Lead Bible studies? Teach our children?
Has He given us joy? How can we multiply that joy in other people? Can we behave kindly towards others? Can we smile at them and treat them with kindness, even when they act rudely towards us?
Has He given us peace? How can multiply that peace by reassuring the brokenhearted?
Has He given us patience? How can we multiply that patience by helping others find calm and focus in a world of chaos?
God Is Faithful
It can take time to learn how to bring our thoughts, words, and actions into obedience to Christ, but God is faithful. When we honor Him as God in our hearts, He helps us bring all of our lives into obedience to Him. When that happens, we begin to see the good fruit of obedience in our lives, and that good fruit begins to multiply as it is shared with other people.
Galatians 5:22-23 ESV - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
John 15:16 ESV - You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Colossians 1:9-12 ESV - And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
Maybe you’re reading this and you realize you’ve been unfruitful. You realize you’ve been living for yourself and not for God.
Or maybe you have been fruitful, but you know you could do more. You honor Jesus as God, but not in every area of your life, and you know that needs to change.
It’s not too late. If that’s you, I encourage you to pray this prayer:
“Jesus, you are God. You are above all, and everything exists to serve you, including me. I have tried and failed to be my own god, and it didn’t work. Please forgive me and change me. You are the Lord of my life. Please help me bring my thoughts, words, and actions in line with your will. Please help me to honor you as God in every area of my life. Please help me to be fruitful and to multiply the good things you’ve given me, for your glory. Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, congratulations! You’ve just taken an awesome step in your spiritual journey towards the Lord. I encourage you to find a pastor or a Christian friend and share with them what you’ve learned. They can help you walk through next steps together. You can even leave a comment if you feel so inclined!
God bless you, and have a wonderful, fruitful day!