Article September 11, 1926 Issue

A Daily Duty

SUSAN F. CAMPBELL

Through his exalted thought and constant desire to know and obey the will of God, the Ten Commandments were given to Moses. These Commandments have been the nucleus of righteous law for the guidance and protection of mankind for ages. Many centuries later, on that wonderful occasion after the Sadducees had been questioning Jesus and striving with much subtlety to discount his teachings, a Pharisee, who was a lawyer, came to him saying, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus in his terse, profound summary answered: "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." That the immediate followers of Jesus strove to understand and obey these commands is seen throughout the Acts of the Apostles. In subsequent history, luminaries have appeared as lights shining in the darkness, who have grasped to some extent the spiritual significance of these great commands.

In this age, the beloved Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, has given numerous aids whereby these Commandments may become more practical in daily experience; and among these gifts is the "Daily Prayer," which we find in the Manual of The Mother Church (p. 41), and which constitutes one of its By-laws. This Bylaw reads as follows: "It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to pray each day: 'Thy kingdom come;' let the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all sin; and may Thy Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them!"

The first part of this beautiful, simple prayer might be looked upon as a supreme desire that the "first and great commandment" as given by Jesus might become a living reality, in order that it might be continually obeyed; and it also surely implies a great reaching out in thought to the great heart of Love, which, as the Psalmist tells us, "forgiveth all thine iniquities;" and "healeth all thy diseases."

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September 11, 1926
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