Proverbs 11:30
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise.”
Nothing better describes a person’s life than the fruit that his or her life produces. Fruit simply means the results. Apple trees exist simply to produce apples. Some apple trees produce gnarly and diseased apples. Some produce beautiful sweet apples. Some do not produce any fruit at all.
In order for us to fully understand the implication of this proverb, it is important to understand how it relates to us as individuals. What role do we play in this proverb? First, we must know that certainly it refers to us as being the trees that will produce some type of fruit. However, it is essential that we know who is “the righteous”, because according to this proverb “the righteous” is the one bearing the fruit? I believe that “the righteous”, “the tree”, and “the fruit” are three separate entities.
“The Righteous One” does not refer to us, but rather to God. King David wrote in the Psalms saying, “The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race and sees that there is no one righteous throughout all of humanity.” There are no perfect humans; therefore, there are no righteous humans. So if we as the trees are not the righteous, then what or who is? I believe that “the righteous” is referring to “The Root” of the tree. The root is the source of strength and health. You can cut a tree down, and the tree will die separated from the root, but if the root is still there it will just produce another tree. Listen to what Christ says, “I am the root, you are but mere branches. The one who remains in me, and I in him, will produce a lot of fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”
It is crucial that we know our role as mere humans. If we do not understand our role we cannot fulfill our purpose, which is to produce good fruit in our lives, and become the tree of life that God intends us to become.
So we understand now that we are the trees and God is the root, but who is the fruit? Ah, this is the beautiful part! Once we realize our fruitlessness being separated from the root, we come to God through Christ, and get grafted back into the source of life, righteousness, and peace, and begin to produce the “Good Things” of life. It is interesting that this proverbs ends with the saying, “…he that wins souls is wise.” In other words, he that can convince others of the truth is a wise person. The fruit of any salesman are his clients; those that believe or have become convinced in the necessity of his product or device. How many believers do you think Bill Gates has won over to the idea of the “windows” application? Nearly all of us have become fruit of the Microsoft business.
Let me tell you that there is a higher calling in life than that of Microsoft. It is the calling to become a part of the family of our Creator. This is our job, bringing people back into the family, and helping people get grafted back into the root of God, so that they can begin to live the abundant, joyful, peaceful, and fulfilling life God has always intended for them to live. Jesus Christ became the
Pastor LaVaughn
