Fruitfulness is the third of the three great Divine fiats.

In its primary form fruitfulness has to do with the reproduction of human beings. Eve is the mother of all living. It will be interesting to meet Eve some day, the grandmother of all people. What a bunch of grandchildren she has!

In its transcendent form fruitfulness has to do with the reproduction of the image of Christ. God wants every saved human being to show in himself the character of Jesus Christ, including love, joy, peace, courage, patience, the love of righteousness and holiness, stern obedience to God, and all else found in Christ's personality.

In some passages the Apostles spoke of being punished with everlasting destruction or drawing back to destruction. Maybe this means the wicked will not be permitted to grow into the character of Christ, in addition to whatever else happens to them.

Except a grain of wheat falls into the ground and die it remains alone, but if it dies it bears much fruit. God wants us to bear fruit and have our fruit remain.

As long as we choose to live in our own religious manner, even ministering according to our understanding of what we should be doing, no eternal fruit will be born. We may convert many to our way of thinking so they make a profession of faith in Christ. But this is not true fruitfulness.

True fruitfulness occurs only as we struggle with God in the death of our adamic nature. As God chastens and buffets us our old nature is brought down to death and in its place rises the Life of Christ. The Life of Christ is life-giving. It causes fruit to be born and grow.

As we patiently carry our cross, following the Lord each day, a part of our old nature dies and Christ takes its place. There is a spillover of resurrection life that occurs. The surplus resurrection life touches those around us and the character of Christ is born in them. This is the transcendent fulfillment of the third Divine fiat.

Every believer who is willing to die in the Lord, to be pruned by the Lord, bears eternal fruit—the image and likeness of Christ in those around him or her. If we seek to save our life we will lose it. If we are willing to lose our life in God we will save it and an untold number of other people will be touched by the Life of Jesus.

You were meant to be fruitful. If you are a saint, a holy one of God, your first role is that of bearing the fruit of the image of the Lord. Christ has chosen you for this purpose.

Refuse to occupy yourself with lesser things. Press into the Lord that there may be an abundance of fruit for His table.