Apples

Apples are red, but not to the core;
Their color’s skin deep and not a bit more;
If we were apples and righteousness red,
Despite our appearance, could it be said
That we are Christians, but not to our core,
With color skin deep, and not a bit more?

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Are we like apples in hue of our hide?
Is Christ’s blood on us with little inside?
Does it no longer saturate our whole
Down into the core of heart, mind, and soul?
Have we watered it down with this world’s ways
Until words, not deeds, manifest our praise?

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How deep is our faith? How thick is our zeal?
Are they to the core, or thin as a peel?
Do they prove steadfast or do they wear thin
When tested by trials and tempted by sin?
Are we satisfied with just a veneer
As long as Christ-like it makes us appear?

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As in an apple, it’s down in the core
Where Christian seeds lie from which to plant more;
If we’re to obey the Master’s command
Of planting His seed in Earth’s every land,
Then all our faith, our zeal, our righteousness,
Should reach to our core, and not a bit less.

J. G. Braddock Sr.