Show Love

From Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles Cowman

Colossians 3:12 Put on as the elect of God, kindness.

There is a story of an old man who carried a little can of oil with him everywhere he went, and if he passed through a door that squeaked, he poured a little oil on the hinges. If a gate was hard to open, he oiled the latch. And thus he passed through life lubricating all hard places and making it easier for those who came after him. 

People called him eccentric, queer, and cranky; but the old man went steadily on refilling his can of oil when it became empty, and oiled the hard places he found. 

There are many lives that creak and grate harshly as they live day by day. Nothing goes right with them. They need lubricating with the oil of gladness, gentleness, or thoughtfulness. Have you your own can of oil with you? Be ready with your oil of helpfulness in the early morning to the one nearest you. It may lubricate the whole day for him. The oil of good cheer to the downhearted one--Oh, how much it may mean! The word of courage to the despairing. Speak it. 

Our lives touch others but once, perhaps, on the road of life; and then, mayhap, our ways diverge, never to meet again. The oil of kindness has worn the sharp, hard edges off of many a sin-hardened life and left it soft and pliable and ready for the redeeming grace of the Saviour. 

A word spoken pleasantly is a large spot of sunshine on a sad heart. Therefore, "Give others the sunshine, tell Jesus the rest." 

We cannot know the grief 

That men may borrow; 

We cannot see the souls 

Storm-swept by sorrow; 

But love can shine upon the way 

Today, tomorrow; 

Let us be kind. 

Upon the wheel of pain
So many weary lives are broken, 

We live in vain
Who give no tender token. 

Let us be kind.

Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love.

This meant a lot to me this morning. It was convicting because I am a life that creaks and grates harshly as I live day by day.

Loving others is one of the hardest things for us to do. Love is not a feeling but a choice. It means choosing to show love when it means making a sacrifice. It means choosing to show love even when it is not reciprocated. Love is not produced in the heart as one might think: it is produced by the Spirit of God ("the fruit of the spirit is love"). Love is not something that we can do! Only the Holy Spirit can enable us to show love to the unlovely.

Jesus said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Jesus' love for we unlovely sinners was the greatest sacrificial love of all, but daily we can lay down our lives -- our wants, our plans, our time, this thing called self -- for those in our lives whom God has called us to love. By showing love to others, we lose sight of self, and we find J-O-Y in its stead. By "oiling" some other life with the oil of gladness, we get "oiled" ourselves. When we show Jesus' love to others, Jesus shows His love to us!

There is no way to measure the worth of making the pathway of life a little easier for someone else. Choosing to show love is priceless.