[Based on historical records]
GOOD FRUIT
Hear me now, I speak the Truth:
You shall know them by their fruit.
To sow, then reap, is absolute —
A law that no one can refute.
A briar-bush cannot bear figs;
Good fruit comes only from good trees.
Fruit of the Spirit, such as these:
Love and joy, patience and peace,
Kindness, meekness, faithfulness,
Self-control, benevolence.
Righteous trees yield righteous fruit,
And increased harvests are produced.
So, grow in Spirit and in Truth —
I am the Vine, GOD is the Root.
If they are Mine, you will see proof:
And you will know them by their fruit.
(poem by Jim Sharp)
Those who make a claim for their own Spirituality, can be be measured by this standard: what they DO, not what they say —-
simple, straightforward from a Biblical “authority”; (not referring to the poet, here)
Hypocrisy was firmly condemned regarding the Scribes & Pharisees (“scholars of the Law” and “interpreters of the Law” in modern terms); analogous positions we currently see daily in public life.
I assert many of today’s Americans who claim devoted allegiance to Christianity may fail this ‘test’. Examples abound!!!