Good morning!
Text: Acts 13-15; Proverbs 11:16-31
These passages are rich and encouraging. It is exciting to see how the Gospel advances in Acts. That said, it is Proverbs 11:30 that arrested my eyes and got me to thinking:
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,and whoever captures souls is wise.
When we live our lives for Jesus, we bring forth fruit – fruit that lasts and lasts. It is like an apple falling from the tree, seeds sprouting and a new tree is born. After years of growth and maturation, then come apples and more apples – bushel upon bushel comes forth. The orchards of the future generations all will come in this way. Have you ever considered that your life – lived as one who has been made righteous by the blood of the Lamb – is yielding seeds that will bring trees, fruit and more seeds, on into eternity to come?
And, then there is a second idea – that when we “capture” souls we are acting in wisdom. To capture a soul is to take a hold of a life – a person’s very core, and bring him or her into the Kingdom. Of course, it is the work of the Lord to convert. But, the casting of the net – the work of establishing and nurturing relationships with people who need the Savior and then telling them the Good News – that work is ours. It is wise. Why is that? A soul snatched out of darkness into His glorious light is the greatest and highest trophy there is. It exceeds any human achievement among earthly prizes – whether to be made a king, hailed as the Nobel laureate, crowned world champion, or awarded the greatest of honor – nothing compares to participating in the heavenly work of winning even just one soul for Jesus. Amen!
in Him, Mike