A few days ago while out shopping with my son I decided, I am going to smile and speak to everyone I meet today. Ya know what? I did and what a blessing. When we look into an other's eyes and say, "Hello", they respond in ways we wouldn't think. That smile appears, and their day is brightened by just one reaching out.When we carry joy in our hearts it spreads to others. Just one smile can change someones day. You know you have seen those people out shopping with grim looks upon their faces, those carrying heavy loads, but trying to carry on with their day. I have looked like that and when another smiles upon me, it makes me smile in turn.
You know that laughing game? The one where you make yourself laugh, and then another begins to laugh? It just continues to catch on and that laughter becomes real, it is contagious, and it gets louder and louder as each one joins in. When we laugh, when we share ourselves with others it allows them the freedom to open up and shout out loud the gift of joy.
Ever been standing in line at your local store and find it is a new young man at the register? He is lost, and it is taking forever. What do you do? We can stand there aggravated and allowing our temper to fly, or we can choose to lighten his load with a smile. This happened just a few days ago to me. As I was standing there the couple in front of me were not too happy at this young man's progress. I could see the look of frustration on his face. So when I came up to him, I smiled and started a conversation and told him its okay. Now, I have been like the couple in front of me before just wanting to hurry and get out there, but sometimes that is our very problem. We are in too big of a hurry to reach out to others.
Listen to the fruit of the Spirit we are to carry in our day. Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." Can we really carry one of these without the other? No, we cannot. If we are to carry the fruit of the Spirit with us, and in us, we must die to ourselves and begin reaching out with the love Christ instilled in us.
When we go shopping for fruit which do we pick up? Which catches our eye? We pick up the brightest fruit, the fresh fruit, one with an aroma of sweetness. Those that are ugly and smelly we leave behind. No one wants to take that kind of fruit home. Its not lasting, and it will not taste good. There will be a mighty after taste when we bite into fruit that is not fresh.
Our walk is the same. We must leave a good, and loving after taste for all those who are in our path. We need to have that fresh aroma, that sweetness that calls people to our attention so they can see Jesus through us. If we work on one of these traits, we will soon carry all of them, and others will see something different in us. They will see love, something everyone needs a little more of.
