"There is none other commandment greater than these," declares Christ Jesus. He is referring to the two basic "Thou shalt's": "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength . . . . And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Mark 12:30, 31. These two "thou shalt's," together, chart the "how" of salvation.
Is it selfish to pursue this how of salvation for ourselves? No! We'll be obeying the Bible: "Work out your own salvation . . . . It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Phil. 2:12, 13. And we'll be heeding Mrs. Eddy's plea "One thing I have greatly desired, and again earnestly request, namely, that Christian Scientists, here and elsewhere, pray daily for themselves; not verbally, nor on bended knee, but mentally, meekly, and importunately." Miscellaneous Writings, p. 127.
Actually we can't work out anyone else's salvation—as hard as we often try. We can't go to heaven tandem style or cheaper-by-the-dozen. There are no excursion fares or group rates. Salvation never gets past one-to-one. Work out your own! Jesus did. He showed us how to work out ours but didn't do our work for us or eliminate any of our individual responsibilities.
