Human Affection

That the ministry of Jesus was one of steadily increasing compassion, affection, and love is acknowledged; the world, however, has given but spasmodic heed to the example he left for it to follow and has thereby missed the full import of his "new commandment": "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." So through missing the import of this great utterance the world has largely missed its way to its most desired goal, happiness. Every one desires happiness and every one is engaged in seeking it in one direction or another, but until the search is lifted up from a pursuit of material things to a conscious delight in present spiritual good, happiness will continue to be an evanescent experience to the seeker. How often has a persistent pursuit of some desired object, be it fame or fortune or friend, promised the utmost in happiness if only it could be attained, only to prove in the attainment a broken reed that pierces the heart, a house builded upon the sands; and why? Because the effort has been made in the wrong direction, in direct opposition to the First Commandment and to this "new commandment."

Having one God to love and serve with all the heart does not include serving the interests of a self apart from God; neither does loving another include a departure from the living spirit of this new commandment, "as I have loved you." This, then, is the whole secret of happiness, to love as Jesus loved, to serve as he served. The way he marked out for us is explicit in its direction: "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love." "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." "But I say unto you, Love your enemies." His affection found expression in tasks that might seem almost menial were it not for the great love which prompted them. His patience and compassion were evinced, not only in his association with his disciples when he was frequently forced to repeat his simple parables in still simpler form so that dull minds could comprehend, but in his healing work; more especially in that forcible lesson brought home to his hearers during the ministrations of the Magdalene on the occasion of Jesus' visit to the house of Simon, when the Master asked of Simon which debtor would love the creditor most and approved the answer, "He, to whom he forgave most." Straightway he separated the debt from man, the odiousness of sin from the pure idea of God, the true, perfect reflection of Mind, the Magdalene from the perfect idea which Jesus saw, and straightway she was healed.

The world is not greatly changed to-day. There confronts us at every turn the need for love such as this, the love which sees man always as the upright, complete expression of the one Mind, the love that is patient and forbearing, tender and forgiving, the love that recognizes the only enemy or enmity in whatever false belief attempts to hinder its full expression; the overflowing heart which does not limit its affection to one person or a dozen but gives unceasingly of the good it knows in service to mankind. On page 94 of "Retrospection and Introspection," by the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, she has stated, "I am persuaded that only by the modesty and distinguishing affection illustrated in Jesus' career, can Christian Scientists aid the establishment of Christ's kingdom on the earth." And on page 107 of her book "Miscellaneous Writings" she has given this thought further expression: "More love is the great need of mankind. A pure affection, concentric, forgetting self, forgiving wrongs and forestalling them, should swell the lyre of human love." It is true that human affection is not always pure, selfless, and forgiving. Frequently it may be selfish in the extreme; but even the least human love has some spark of good, some lesser hearth fire of selflessness that can be guarded, tended, and purified until it becomes a thing of warmth and beauty to those it shines upon. We must gain the lasting happiness and beauty of spiritual affection in our lives through earnestly and consistently purifying our human affection. This means watching to see that our growth is Godward; it means careful scrutiny of each thought, motive, and act; it means the replacing of every selfish desire and interest with the true desire and interest, to reflect God, which is the birthright of man in God's likeness.