‘Let us love one another, for love is of God.' 1 John 4:7
One evening before Mary Martin, the great Broadway
musical star, was to go on stage in South Pacific, a note was handed to her. It
was from Oscar Hammerstein. He had written it to her from his deathbed: ‘Dear
Mary, a bell’s not a bell till you ring it. A song’s not a song until you sing
it. Love in your heart is not put there to stay. Love isn’t love till you give
it away.’ After her performance a number of people rushed backstage,
exclaiming, ‘Mary, what happened to you out there tonight? We have never heard
anything like that performance! You sang with more power than you’ve ever
sung!’ Blinking back tears, Mary read them the note from Hammerstein and added,
‘Tonight, I gave my love away!’ The poorest person in the world has something to give others if he or she has love in their heart. Love’s gifts take many forms - a smile, a hug, a gift, a note of thanks, a hand up, and just being there in tough times. Love is the one gift that always fits, is always appropriate, and always in season. Jesus said, ‘By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another’ (John 13:35 NKJV). Paul wrote, ‘May the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all’ (1 Thessalonians 3:12 NKJV). John writes, ‘Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.’ So the word for you today is: give your love away.
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