Today we begin a study on Born to Reproduce, a classic booklet on discipleship, based on a
message given by Dawson Trotman in 1955.
It is timeless.
You
can order the booklet from Nav Press, and view it online here: Born to Reproduce.
Please read the opening section, stopping just short of the
one titled Hindrances. If you have
the book, that can be found on pages 9 – 11 (the foreword is optional), if you
are using the online document, it is the first column and ¾ on page 1 (
here: Born to Reproduce ).
Trotman relates, beautifully I think, that the “first order
given to man was to ‘be fruitful and
multiply”’”* meant more than just having children.
God commanded, with His first command to
mankind, that they create more like that which He had created. He commanded that those created in the image
of God would bring about more living beings in
His image.
Adam and Eve sinned and their offspring were born into
sin. It is a popular image that Eve
sinned by taking the fruit, and that was the first sin. Well, men, that might have been the first sin
of commission, but I would argue that
the first human sin was one of omission. Go ahead guys, read it, in Genesis 3, Adam
was there for the entire exchange between Eve and the serpent – and did nothing.
He left his wife unprotected.
He stood and watched as she was defiled.
Are you protecting that woman who God placed under your
charge? Are you protecting her from sin
by leading a holy life? Are you
protecting her from sin by keeping filth out of your house? Are you protecting her from fear by offering
the security you proclaimed in your vows before God? Are you protecting her dignity by partnering
with her as a parent?
Men. MEN! If we ever hope to disciple others, then we
must make it possible that anyone who copies us, would be copying one who is
copying Jesus, loving our wives as He loved the church, willing to lay down our
lives for her. This is not just being
willing to die, but to give up a life of selfishness for one of selflessness.
God has provided a way for us to spiritually reproduce in a
manner similar to the way Adam and Eve were intended to physically
reproduce. He has given us a Savior and
provided us with His Holy Spirit to allow us create others in His image.
Grab the Dawson book…read on.
Questions:
Imagine how the world would be if all children ever born
were not born in the grip of sin; what would the world look like?
How might we spiritually reproduce others in the image of
God?
What prevents us from doing so?
What specific responsibility do you, as a man, have in this
area?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All Scripture is taken from the NIV, 1984 edition, unless
otherwise noted.
Quotes marked with an asterisk (*) are taken from :
Trotman, Dawson. Born
to Reproduce. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2008. Print.
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