"...let us practice loving each other, for love comes from God and those who are loving and kind show that they are the children of God." (I John 4:7)
There are parts of the world that one can go where one seldom finds anybody who speaks English. If it is on the well beaten tourist path there will be an occasional shop that has a sign in front, "English Spoken here." (When I was hunting elastic socks for Ruby Nell when she had nearly broken both ankles in Rome, one would have been handy.)
But it is said that there is a church in South Carolina with a new twist on the phraseology, with a sign in the front yard, "LOVE SPOKEN HERE". Ah, what an oasis! A place where a kind word and a pat on the shoulder might be expected. Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if there was one of those signs on every block of the city?
We have one, but it is hidden behind the bricks. One has to hunt for it. That sign speaks to the deepest need of the human heart. The child, the farmer, the doctor, the educator, the blacksmith, the mother, the father, the candlestick-maker. We all wither and die without it. Sometimes, if we can only find someone who will love us as we are, warts, freckles, calluses and all, it helps make the difference of faltering and carrying on.
We do not grow up full grown into loving persons over night. Even a tomato has to have time to grow. To be sure, being a loving person starts with a desire to be that kind, and with special grace of God. But the development comes with day by day by day work.
BL
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