When the rich young man asked Christ Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life, he was directed to obey the Commandments. He replied that he had always kept them. "Then Jesus beholding him loved him," we are told in Mark's Gospel (10:21). Thereupon Jesus gave the inquirer a new and additional command: "Sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, . . . and come, take up the cross, and follow me." Here is a perfect example of law combined with love. Another instance of justice and tenderness combined is shown in the Master's handling of the case of adultery, in which he refused to apply the strict and cruel Hebrew law and lovingly dismissed the woman with the command (John 8:11), "Go, and sin no more."
Some Biblical words which imply that God is Principle are as follows: lawgiver, judge, king, Almighty, Lord, creator, justice, power. Bible concordances provide scores of pertinent references on these words. Psalm 119 is one long prayer and praise based on God's laws, statutes, commands, and judgments, and it may well be called the Psalm of Principle.
Mary Baker Eddy, equipped with the spiritual understanding of the Scriptures, saw that the source of right law and its administration is God, whom she named Principle. This name is one of seven synonymous terms for God: "Divine Principle, Life, Truth, Love, Soul, Spirit, Mind" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mrs. Eddy, p. 115). And the following statement on page 184 of the same book, "Truth, Life, and Love are the only legitimate and eternal demands on man, and they are spiritual lawgivers, enforcing obedience through divine statutes," implies the tenderness of Principle. Since God is Love, His statutes must manifest love, compassion, tenderness.
