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The Oil Can
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 few drops on the hinges. If a gate was hard to open, he oiled the latch. And thus he passed through life lubricating all the hard places and making it easier for those who came after him. People called him eccentric, crazy, and strange; but he went steadily on refilling his can of oil, and using it almost every day.
There are many lives that creak and grate harshly as they live day by day. Nothing goes right with them. They need lubricating! Have your oil can with you, and be ready with the oil of, “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,” which things are the “Fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Oil is often used in Scripture as a type of the Holy Spirit, and in a previous verse in this same chapter we are exhorted to “Walk in the Spirit” (verse 16).
Our lives touch and affect others, and a little, soothing, spiritual oil may be just what is needed to help, comfort, encourage, heal, or edify.
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