Article November 22, 1924 Issue

The Standard of the Master

PALMYRE R. GUNDELFINGER

As the doctrine of love had been preached by some prophets and teachers before the Christian era, why did Jesus proclaim his commandment, "Love one another; as I have loved you," as new? Its newness, it is evident, consisted in the measure and manner of the love that is required by the standard of the Master, which he expressed in the simple words, "as I have loved you."

The world is so satisfied with its concept of love, so sure that it understands love, so determined to hold to what it deems love, that it seems more or less bewildered and sometimes almost exasperated by Mrs. Eddy's explanation of love, which is the same as that of Jesus. It regards as transcendental or as nonsensical the teaching that the First Commandment and the "new commandment" are identical,—that to love as Jesus loved means to have no other God than Spirit, to have no other love than good.

Divine Love includes the love of good, the love of Love. Divine Love knows no evil, no matter. This does not mean that we should cease to love our neighbor; for "he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" In other words, we love what we perceive and understand of good. As our understanding of man grows, so will our love become more spiritual. To love as Jesus loved, we must labor to comprehend the real man.

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