Good Fruit

For Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Proverbs 11:30

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and whoever captures souls is wise.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life because good fruit comes from good trees. Jesus noted this. You can tell the heart of a person by the fruit he bears. One can try to imitate goodness, but if his heart is not good his outward goodness will appear superficial. There is a difference between controlling one's tongue from saying angry words and from not thinking of angry words at all. There certainly is a difference between learning to act good so as to get one's way and taking delight in blessing others. Focus on righteousness and the good fruit will come. Make Christ the model of righteousness and trust in him to provide that righteousness. A good tree is good because its roots draw rich nourishment. Find your nourishment in God's Word, in Christ's work, and in the Spirit's indwelling.

Finally, seek to be a soul-winner. There are different ways to capture. There is the face-to-face witness, doing good deeds, being a good friend; writing, praying. One thing that stymies us is projecting activities that unnerve us and may be what we are not gifted in doing; often the result is missing out on opportunities given us. Thus, as we fret about doing street evangelism, we miss the opportunity given when our neighbor strikes up a conversation with us. We don't need to ask God to give opportunity to witness, so much as to ask him to open our eyes to the many opportunities he already places before us.

Pray today that you will be a tree of life to your neighbor; pray that you may capture a soul through your love and good fruit. And thank God that he captured you!