LOOK AT THE FRUIT

How do we ever recognise if someone is a fake?

What is it we should look for, preventing a mistake?

It’s not by what they’re wearing. It could be a disguise,

Worn to bring confusion and spread the devil’s lies.

We mustn’t be misguided by what the people speak.

Unless they’re using swear words. Such words are “up the creek”.

But even those who come to us suggesting they are pure,

Are frequently not genuine; of this we can be sure.

So how then do we recognise someone’s a man of God?

First look at his lifestyle, to see if it is odd.

Pay a little visit in private to his mate.

Ask for their opinion. Ask if they will rate,

Their partner as a Christian, or tell if they’re a fraud.

It’s at this sort of interview we find who is their Lord.

Of course it’s still subjective. What others think or feel.

How can we have the confidence their testimony’s real?

There isn’t an alternative. We must look at the fruit,

To see if they are Christian or frauds of ill repute.

We mustn’t be judgemental. That’s not the way to go.

But what they do consistently is what they’re sure to show.

The Bible clearly tells us the righteous do what’s right.

They keep the Lord’s commandments continually in sight.

They’ve put aside hypocrisy and every form of sham.

Admit to their complicity if they are in a jam.

The truth is more important than putting on an act.

And they acknowledge Jesus as the one unchanging fact.

The Master told us plainly, the kind of life we live,

Is what we should be looking at. The fragrance that we give,

To others on the journey. The things we say and do,

Is what we should be looking at! It gives a certain view

Descriptive of our character. He said this was our “fruit”,

That couldn’t be mistaken and no one can dispute.

It seems so elementary; the water from our spring,

Cannot be fresh and salty. There’s really no such thing.

An olive tree bears olives. Its fruit is never thorns.

There’s no figs on a grape vine. Its what we are adorns,

Our lives with such a clarity. The fruit is always good.

Descriptive of our living the way we know we should.

It’s such a simple lesson. It isn’t hard to see,

The way that someone’s living his life consistently.

And so this is the yardstick to identify a flake,

Or prove they are a Christian and live for Jesus’ sake.

Jim Strickland – Written – 19^th November 2011