December 8

"Put on as the elect of God, kindness" (Col.3:12)

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 squeaked¹, he poured a little oil on the hinges. If a gate was hard to open, he oiled the latch². 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 steadily³ 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 diverge⁴, 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 pliable⁵ and ready for the redeeming⁶ grace of the Saviour⁷.

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. "

"Be kindly⁸ affectioned one to another with brotherly love" (Rom.12:10)

━Selected

十二月八日

「你们既是神的选民…就要穿上怜悯、恩惠…」 （西三:12）

从前有一位老人，无论走到甚么地方，身边总带着一小瓶油的；如果他走过一扇门，门上发出辗轧的响声来，他就倒一些油在铰链上。如果他遇到一扇难开的门，他就涂一些油在门闩上。他一生就是这样做加油的工作，使他以后的人得着便利。

人们称他为怪人；但是这位老人依然照旧行走━瓶里的油倒空了再装，倒空了再装……

有许多人，他们每天的生活顶不和谐━充满轧轧声、咒骂声…他们需要喜乐油、温柔油、关切油…你身上有没有带着油呢？你应当随时带着你的帮助油━从早到晚去分给人━从你最近的人分起。也许你早晨分给他的油，可以够他一日应用。把喜乐油分给沮丧的人━对绝望的人说一句鼓励的话━哦，这是一件何等美丽的事。

在人生的道路上，有许多人，我们也许一生只会碰到一次；以后永远不会再相遇了，所以千万不要错过这惟一的机会啊！多少次，一滴恩慈油，会叫一个顶硬的罪人软化过来。预备接受救主赎罪的恩典。

一句悦耳的话，对于一个忧伤的心，就是照明黑暗的阳光。

我们不知道

伤痛如何磨折着人们的心,

我们也不了解,

悲哀如何冲激着人们的灵；

唯有慈爱能天天照耀他们,

使他们得到一点光明,

我们要心存慈爱。

你看多少困倦的生命,

转辗于痛苦的车轮下,悲啼呻吟?

不能给人以同情的温暖,

人生还有甚么意义?

我们要行义存仁。

「爱弟兄要彼此亲热。」（罗十二:10）━选

1 squeaked   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• The radio squeaked five. 收音机里嘟嘟地发出五点钟报时讯号。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Amy's shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor. 埃米走过走廊时，鞋子踩在地砖上嘎吱作响。 来自辞典例句

2 latch   

n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁

参考例句：

• She laid her hand on the latch of the door.她把手放在门闩上。
• The repairman installed an iron latch on the door.修理工在门上安了铁门闩。

3 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

4 diverge   

v.分叉，分歧，离题，使...岔开，使转向

参考例句：

• This is where our opinions diverge from each other.这就是我们意见产生分歧之处。
• Don't diverge in your speech.发言不要离题。

5 pliable   

adj.易受影响的；易弯的；柔顺的，易驾驭的

参考例句：

• Willow twigs are pliable.柳条很软。
• The finely twined baskets are made with young,pliable spruce roots.这些编织精美的篮子是用柔韧的云杉嫩树根编成的。

6 redeeming   

补偿的，弥补的

参考例句：

• I found him thoroughly unpleasant, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. 我觉得他一点也不讨人喜欢，没有任何可取之处。
• The sole redeeming feature of this job is the salary. 这份工作唯其薪水尚可弥补一切之不足。

7 saviour   

n.拯救者，救星

参考例句：

• I saw myself as the saviour of my country.我幻想自己为国家的救星。
• The people clearly saw her as their saviour.人们显然把她看成了救星。

8 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。