Ben Schnell

Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number..." We typically think of "being fruitful' as having children, but it means more than that. Plants can only bear fruit when they have sufficient resources. In the Bible, bearing fruit is a sign of thriving. Consider these examples: Psalms 1:3 says the righteous is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. Psalms 92:12-14 says the righteous will flourish like a palm tree and still bear fruit in old age. Proverbs 12:14 says from the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things.  Jesus says in Matthew 7 that we can know men by the type of fruit they produce, “by their fruit you will know them.”  In Mark 11 Jesus cursed the fig tree because it would not bear fruit.  In John 11, Jesus encourages his disciples to abide in the vine, so that they will bear good fruit.  In the Bible, bearing fr...