"THESE ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." How fresh the words of the Master always are! Though they have filtered down through nineteen centuries of human thought, they read as if spoken into our very ears. Well it is when we can accept them as such and apply them to our own condition. It was not so much the sin of commission that Jesus referred to, as the sin of omission,—that the emphasis of life and purpose was being placed on the wrong side.
We all do many things which are right; but still more things, generally the most important, we may be neglecting to do. For instance, we are reminded in Science and Health (p. 234) that "we should become more familiar with good than with evil, and guard against false beliefs as watchfully as we bar our doors against the approach of thieves and murderers." This is true preventive work. Many find in Christian Science a remedy for trouble when it comes; but we should strive to do our work so that trouble will not come. The protecting power of Love is always available, and we may in this way make our spiritual mentality such a stronghold that it will be impossible for the enemy to enter. Let us see how this can be done.
What is the supreme test of our loyalty to Christ, Truth? "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Could language be more simple and explicit? To what extent did the disciples apprehend what the Master meant? Have we, in these more enlightened days, with our fuller revelation of the truth, and with human consciousness becoming more and more awakened to spiritual realities, —have we grasped the wonderful import of this admonition to mankind,—love for God and for our neighbor,—the complete fulness of human duty; the whole-hearted, loving response to the divine invitation; the perfect round of good, knowing nothing but its own nature? To every Christian Scientist this is especially applicable.
