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 – 19th November 2011
