Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

This is the first “calling,” the first command, that God gave to mankind. It is significant that in modern society, people are drawing back from this. Children are seen as a burden, an expense, an inconvenience, and so in great numbers they are killed in the womb, or never conceived in the first place. All sorts of overpopulation predictions have been made, but right now, virtually all the “advanced” countries have a fertility rate that is well below replacement levels, threatening societal collapse in fairly short order. Women are told that “just being a housewife” is demeaning, and men are accused of “toxic masculinity.” Careers for women aren’t bad, but they aren’t a substitute for motherhood, and biological clocks can’t be paused. On the other side of that, men have the built-in “3-P” impulse: Provide, Protect, Procreate. That is NOT toxic! It can be twisted and profaned, certainly, but in its native state it is one of the foundations of human society. All of this should not be surprising. Everything God created is good, but the devil wants to debase everything, and he’s all too successful much of the time. One of the reasons families of faith are likely to have more children is that they have hope for the future. Everyone has problems, certainly. Jesus even said so clearly. (John 16:33) However, those who believe in a loving, omnipotent Creator have the assurance that we will get through those problems, and so have faith to bring more children into the world. The devil does all he can to destroy the family, to the point that 40% of all the babies born in the US do not have married parents – and that’s on top of all the abortion statistics! Those who know God have got to stand up for His natural order, proclaiming His truth that sets people free.

I was blessed to be one of four children of committed parents. There would have been five, but my mother had a miscarriage after me, and ended up with a hysterectomy. My wife and I only have two children, but mistakes in her first c-section left her in a condition that more could well have been fatal. My children, in turn, have no more than two children, so I don’t have a high horse from which to preach. However, that should not keep me from proclaiming God’s natural order for all who are physically able to participate. And that is, certainly, in the context of committed marriage. It has been shown through countless studies that children do far better when they are raised by married parents. Going further, I am to stand for responsible stewardship of the earth and all that is in it, not worshiping what is created, but recognizing that the Creator holds us accountable for what we do with it. Things like climate, change, and pollution is certainly bad, but things like CO2 are plant food, not pollution! I’m not to attack others for their opinions, but I am to stand firm against their attacks, so that more and more people may become responsible stewards of the earth.

Father, thank You for this reminder. That this first commissioning of mankind is being attacked so strongly is an indication of the days we live in. Help me be a faithful witness to Your truth, so that as many people as possible may be liberated from the devil’s lies, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!