Most people get this simple question wrong. What is the first commandment in the Bible?
It is not, I am the Lord your God, which is the first of the ten commandments given at Mount Sinai, and a fascinating topic in itself.
But the first commandment in the Bible, given to Adam and Eve, is “Be fruitful and multiply.” This is usually interpreted to mean that we are obligated to have children. A man fulfills this obligation when he has fathered a girl and a boy. Interestingly, women are not obligated to reproduce because childbirth is dangerous. Each woman can choose whether she wants to bear children or not.
Now, if “Be fruitful and multiply” simply means “Have children,” it would have sufficed to say, “Multiply.” What does “Be fruitful” mean? Not everyone is blessed to have children, but all of us can and must bear fruit. It means fulfilling our mission in life. The reason we were sent into this world.
And we figure out what that is by asking over and over again, “What is the unique contribution only I can make? What is the problem that won’t be solved unless I solve it? The person that won’t be helped unless I help them? The project that won’t happen unless I make it happen? The art that won’t be created unless I create it?”
We’re all born with amnesia when it comes to our personal mission. But if we keep asking, “What is the fruit I was sent here to bear?” the answer will come into focus and a life of meaning and purpose will follow.
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