Article June 24, 1916 Issue

Love's Activity

FANNIE BAKER BONNER

One of the most beautiful truths which came to the writer after she began to read "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, was that at last one could find out how to obey the command of Jesus to love not only our friends but our enemies. In common with others she had discovered that no matter how much one wished to be loving and kind, there seemed to be no way of really loving everybody, because there were, as supposed, so many disagreeable people in the world who seemed to treat one badly. The old religious teaching enjoined love, but when one tried to practise it there seemed no way of filling the measure demanded.

The first light on this question came from reading the article "Love Your Enemies," beginning on page 8 of "Miscellaneous Writings." This reading was repeated many times, and many tears were shed before there came the willingness to see what the only enemy was and is. On page 10 we read, "Even in belief you have but one (that, not in reality), and this one enemy is yourself—your erroneous belief that you have enemies; that evil is real; that aught but good exists in Science." During the succeeding years this article has stood by the writer in many a dark hour when evil seemed to make itself real as personality.

What to do, how to love, was the question. One often hears it said: "Well, I do not need to love these persons so long as I do not hate them; I am simply indifferent. I let them alone because they are so hateful." But is this indifference sufficient? Love is active, and will a passive attitude be a fulfilling of the command to love? In the first epistle of John we read, "He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." We all know that the sin of omission, the failure to do something we ought, is a serious offense. The Bible confirms the fact that love must be active, and to love the brother must mean active loving.

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