"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise." Proverbs 11:30

Much of the last two days for me have been spent sitting in a hospital waiting room. The patient is not expected to live much longer. The experience has been a fascinating observation. Proverbs 11:30 aptly captures the scene. “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.” As the constant stream of friends flowed into and out of the waiting room to minister and say goodbye, each time the story was the same if the exact details were a bit different. One told of faithful phone calls received; others spoke of prayer. Still others remembered wise counsel or a helping hand. It was striking to see the evidence of such a fruitful life. How could one person influence so many? By living righteously. Put another way, by loving and serving Jesus Christ. Do you want to have influence and make a positive difference in your world? Then focus on righteousness. In the last few minutes, a famous athlete publicly announced his homosexuality to great fanfare. Without question, this announcement will also result in great influence on society. But the fruit produced will be a tree of death. Two individuals - one famous, one unknown. One praised by the world, one forgotten. But also one that led to death, while the other leads to life. May we pursue righteousness so that life will be the legacy that we leave behind.