The twenty-second chapter of Matthew contains an incident wherein Christ Jesus clearly and simply sets forth one's duty to God and his fellow man. We read that a lawyer, tempting Jesus, questioned, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" What an exalting and inspiring reply was the Master's: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment." And then he added that immortal basis of brotherhood, "And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
Since spiritual verities are eternally alive with practical and healing import, the voicing of truth nineteen hundred years ago has as great a meaning to us today as it had to Jesus' listeners. Do we so regard it? Are we laying aside, repudiating, the mortal and counterfeit basis of manhood, which often gives outward appearance of honoring God, but which renders only lip service? Is our love for God made pure by prayer attuned to gratitude and stabilized by consecration? And do we realize that he who does not know his real, God-reflected identity cannot love and heal his neighbor? Truly, if we desire to prove God's will on earth, if we wish to bring peace to troubled hearts and glorify God in every thought and deed, we must lay hold upon and cherish man's identity as the son of God, the beloved of Love.
Our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, provides in Article VIII, Section 4, of the Manual of The Mother Church a "Daily Prayer" which it is the duty of every member to pray each day. This By-Law indicates that the prayer which heals universally must be exemplified in the daily life of the petitioner, even as a seed must be planted, nurtured, and cultivated in order that it may bring forth abundant fruitage.
