A Reading from the Bible, the Book of Matthew

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Jesus said unto him, 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 the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:36-40 KJV – King James Version)

The Royal Law

A Compliment to the Second Commandment

If you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well. (James 2:8 KJV)

 There are many other verses in the Bible that compliment the second commandment, and some of them are the following:

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:34-35 KJV)

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. (John 15:12 KJV)

These things I command you, that ye love one another. (John 15:17 KJV)

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. (Rom 13:8 KJV)

But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. (1Th 4:9 KJV)

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: (1 Pet 1:22 KJV)

For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. (1 John 3:11 KJV)

And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. (1 John 3:23 KJV)

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. (1 John 4:7 KJV)

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:11-12 KJV)

And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. (2 John 1:5 KJV)

Whatever you do to the least of my brethen, so you do unto me. Feed my sheep (the adults), feed my lambs (the children).

I think that it clear, very clear, that God wants us to love one another, to love our neighbor as ourselves.

The following poem gives a wonderful teaching:

I Found All Three

I sought my soul

But my soul I could not see.

I sought my God

But my God eluded me

I sought my brother

And found all three.

        Here is a story I especially like:

The Story of Abou Ben Adhem

Abou Ben Adem (may his tribe increase)

Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,

And saw within the moonlight of his room,

Making it rich like a lily in bloom,

An Angel writing in a book of gold:

Exceeding peace made Ben Adem bold,

And to the Presence in the room, he said,

“What writest thou?” The Vision raised its head,

And with a look made of all sweet accord

Answered, “The names of those who love the Lord.”

“And is mine one?” said Abou. “Nay, not so,”

Replied the Angel. Abou spoke more low,

But cheerily still; and said, “I pray thee, then,

Write me as one who loves his fellowmen.”

The Angel wrote and vanished. The next night

It came again with a great awakening of Light

And showed the names whom love of God had blest

And, lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest!

        Here is a parable from the Bible that illustrates how we can love our neighbor and illustrates who is our neighbor.

The Good Samaritan

And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. (Luke 10:25-37)

Each one of us can be a Good Samaritan, and some of the things that we can do to be a Good Samaritan are: learn first aid, CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation), foot reflexology or foot zone therapy, the healing arts, and many other skills to serve our brothers and sisters.

Furthermore, we can be a Good Samaritan in almost any job we do; or volunteer for many jobs and truly serve our brothers and sisters.

An interesting thought is this: What is meant when Jesus says, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” I believe “thyself” means our Real Self, the Presence of Love within us, “Thyself” with a capital “T”. So a wonderful teaching is the following:

As above, I AM that Presence of Love; so below, I AM that Love everywhere I go. This is an affirmation that we can repeat and strive to practice everywhere we go. And the compliment to it is: And, as I AM that Love everywhere I go, I will reap that love that I sow.

The Words of Jesus

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

   To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18,19)

“The works that I do shall ye do also, and greater works than these shall ye do; because I go unto my Father,” (John 14:12) (Note by William Star:  The preceding verse is a timeless truth of great spiritual import.)

A Story of Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller

 "If it had not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown." But if it had not been for a kind and dedicated nurse, the name of Anne Sullivan would have remained unknown. And so it goes. Just how far back does the chain of redemption extend? And how far forward will it lead?"

                      The Gift of God's Incredible Love
         "How do you account for your remarkable accomplishment in life?" Queen Victoria of England asked Helen Keller. "How do you explain the fact that even though you were both blind and deaf, you were able to accomplish so much?"
          Ms. Keller's answer is a tribute to her dedicated teacher. "If it had not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown."
          According to speaker Zig Ziglar, "Little Annie" Sullivan, as she was called when she was young, was no stranger to hardship. She was almost sightless herself (due to a childhood fever) and was, at one time, diagnosed as hopelessly "insane" by her by caregivers. She was locked in the basement of a mental institution outside of Boston. On occasion, Little Annie would violently attack anyone who came near. Most of the time she generally ignored everyone in her presence.
          An elderly nurse believed there was hope, however, and she made it her mission to show love to the child. Every day she visited Little Annie. For the most part, the child did not acknowledge the nurse's presence, but she still continued to visit. The kindly woman left cookies for her and spoke words of love and encouragement. She believed Little Annie could recover, if only she were shown love.

Eventually, doctors noticed a change in the girl. Where they once witnessed anger and hostility, they now noted an emerging gentleness and love. They moved her upstairs where she continued to improve. Then the day finally came when this seemingly "hopeless" child was released.

Anne Sullivan grew into a young woman with a desire to help others as she, herself, was helped by the kindly nurse. It was she who saw the great potential in Helen Keller. She loved her, disciplined her, played with her, pushed her and worked with her until the flickering candle that was her life became a beacon of light to the world. Anne Sullivan worked wonders in Helen's life; but it was a loving nurse who first believed in Little Annie and lovingly transformed an uncommunicative child into a compassionate teacher.

"If it had not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown." But if it had not been for a kind and dedicated nurse, the name of Anne Sullivan would have remained unknown. And so it goes. Just how far back does the chain of redemption extend? And how far forward will it lead?

Those you have sought to reach, whether they be in your family or elsewhere, are part of a chain of love that can extend through the generations. Your influence on their lives, whether or not you see results, is immeasurable. Your legacy of dedicated kindness and caring can transform lost and hopeless lives for years to come. You can never overestimate the power of your love. It is a fire that, once lit, may burn forever.
         May you now understand my great debt to Zig. For everything he has taught me, to my growing faith. His life and dedication to teaching every Sunday has helped me to reach out and touch countless thousands all over the world, everyday. I am humbled at how God has used me. I know in my heart, God put me in Zig's class. I know in my heart that God uses Zig in so many ways. I feel so blessed to be a part of your life.

In God's Incredible Love,

Tim

“Now, at last, to make complete this descent to all life, there must be the loving of thy neighbor as thou lovest thy God Self. 

Love thy neighbor as thy Self. 

  Love thy neighbor as God in manifestation. 

  Love thy neighbor as Christ in manifestation.” (through Elizabeth Clare Prophet) 

“Love one another and you shall know the secret of light. Pray for one another and you shall return to the simple grace of the child of God's heart, beloved.” (through David Lewis)

And in God’s Incredible Love, and in the love of my neighbor, I AM,

William Star