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My daughter, Kara, and her husband, Vince, love dogs. No, I mean it, they really love dogs. My son-in-law especially. He becomes attached to dogs so very easily. Let's face it. There's something special about dogs that cats don't have. Walk in the door of a home where a cat lives and you probably won't know it, unless there's that odor. But walk in the door of a home with a dog and you know it immediately. Dogs are the welcome wagon of pets. Their owners rarely open the front door to a guest but what their dog isn't right there with them either saying, "Glad you're here," or, "You better be a good person or we'll have words."

The thing about animals is that they can, and will, reproduce regularly. Give them half a chance and there will be more of them. Kara and Vince found that out the hard way when one of their original dog's litter of pups had her own. Suddenly they had more little guys to go with the five they already had. They have given those all away to good homes except for two. One of the two they had named Shrimp due to its small size. Shrimp was very weak at birth and, despite my daughter's efforts to help the little puppy, didn't make it. Snowball, on the other hand, did.

Now Kara and Vince are watching their dogs a little more closely and talking about taking steps to make sure that it doesn't happen again. They have all the dogs they want and don't want any more. With animals, reproduction is natural. They instinctively take to it without thoughts about how they're going to feed them or where they're all going to sleep. A single ant queen may produce more than a million offspring by the time she's done laying eggs. Yeah, I know. If you wanted National Geographic you'd have subscribed to it. But the point is this, reproduction is natural everywhere but the church.

I wonder if, when God said, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it," (Genesis 1:28) if he was necessarily just talking about human reproduction. Jesus warned that, "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away." John 15:2 Have we grasped the gravity of our part in the kingdom of God and the plans He has for the world salvation? Had certain people not been in my home when I was just a young child I might not be a Christian now. The frightening truth is that the church is one generation away from extinction. Perhaps it is time we take God's first instruction to man to heart.

I know. How do I propose we do that? It should come naturally. Having children is a natural act of our relationships in the choice of a life partner. We love, we marry, and many of us have children. That's the sticking point. Do we, as Christians, truly love as God wants us to love? Does it grow out of our relationship with the Lord? God made us social beings for a reason. That reason is to be able to interact with others and share the love of God with them. The time has come that we must reproduce. The old adage of "preach a sermon with your life" is a good one. May I simply add, don't forget the invitation. It is time to be fruitful.

"'Christ in You...'" from Dale Krebbs

Storms Of Life