There is an influence for good, a divine, irresistible impulsion heavenward, ever present in human consciousness, and the spiritual idea of God, divine Love, will reveal and develop it. This pure influence for good dispels the pride of place, hypocrisy, and selfishness, which would becloud spiritual vision and corrupt the innocency whereby one enters into the atmosphere of Spirit.
Christ Jesus, the most discerning and Godlike man who ever lived, was keenly aware of the mental states of those who came to him. When one of the scribes acknowledged the truth of the Master's declaration that love for God and love for man are the two requirements of most importance, Mark records Jesus as saying (12:34), "Thou art not far from the kingdom of God." This shows Jesus' recognition of the questioner's stage of spiritual development.
Jesus' righteous appraisal of moral and spiritual values discerned that the scribe had, in some degree, traversed the great distance between the hypocrisy and ritualism of Judaism and the purity and simplicity of the Christly teaching. The Master's comment indicates that he perceived the scribe's awakening to the spiritual necessity which, if obeyed, would ultimately transform his concept of religion and existence.
