"And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself."
This Commandment, when mentioned in the Gospels, is always
found in conjunction with the eleventh Commandment: "Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy
might." These two Commandments have a joint mission, just as do the two
parts of the body which they represent — the ankles and the feet.
The ankles and feet are not in themselves necessary to the
life of the body; neither is the virtue of love as expressed in the New
Testament Commandments essential to the natural life of the body. The ankles
and feet, however, are indispensable to the functions of the god-man; so,
also, is the virtue of active love indispensable to the divine in man.
The work of ankles and feet depends entirely upon
individual, conscious volition; it is not automatic. Neither is the virtue of
love spontaneous and inborn; it is something set apart to be exercised with
all our heart, soul, mind, and might. No one can teach a child to walk; it
must walk by itself, falling as it learns. No one can teach us to love; this
also is a self-taught virtue. We can encourage a child to walk and can
encourage each other in learning and expressing love. Pisces is the sign of
the feet. Pisces is also the sign of experience, as the result of which we
learn to use and practice love on our neighbors. Pisces is the testing ground
of the virtue of love — a virtue we accumulated in Aquarius.
Our worldliness, our affiliation with the present
scientific, affluent age — our "rich young man" of the New
Testament —presents us with a considerable test. Consider what the rich young
man was up against: In spite of all his efforts, he believed he was not
gaining eternal life. Christ Jesus said: Sell thy many riches; give all to the
poor who yet have need of them and follow me for love. The young man, aghast,
answered: You mean I must give up all? I must give up all my beautiful
possessions and follow thee like a beggar. I must forget all I have learned
from books and teachers and depend on words which God may or may not put on my
lips in times of need? Do you really expect me to be fed by your words and be
satisfied with the crumbs from your table when all my life I have known
abundance? Do I have to leave the comfort and inspiration of those I love? Do
I have to leave behind my full storehouses and know no more the fruits of my
labors? Must I forget the peace of my harmonious life and take to the
uncertainty of the open road? Must I forget that mine, too, is the voice of the
master, respected and obeyed? Will I know no more the thrill of achievement or
the strength of fearlessness in the presence of enemies? All this I must leave
and follow thee for love? I cannot do it.
Too many of us today are still "rich young men,"
unwilling or unable to let go of the things of this world and follow Him, for
love.
Perhaps the hardest test of love was given to Peter, whom
Christ Jesus three times asked, "Lovest thou me?" Each time Peter
answered in the affirmative, Christ Jesus admonished, "Feed my
sheep." This means: Teach your brothers to love the Path, too; teach them
that truth must be enveloped by the heart — that truth is love. Bring your
neighbor to me that he might dwell in me, and I in him.
The kind of love that Christ Jesus taught is the spontaneous
fulfilling of the law, because this quality of love stills the will and makes
us long only to share. As we are told: "Bless them that curse you. Do
good to them that despitefully use you." "Love one another, even as
I have loved you."
In this Piscean Commandment, Christ Jesus asked us to love
our neighbors — our fellow men — as He loved us, yet even this is little
compared to what He did in ministering to us. When He sent out the 70 to
preach the Gospel and heal the sick, He said: Take no purse or wallet, no
shoes, nor change of raiment; salute no man. In other words, release all
possessions — material, mental, personal, and emotional.
Christian victory is achieved when His love shines in our
hearts and His power is made manifest through our deeds of service, for our
neighbors.
—Rays from the Rose Cross Magazine, May, 1977, page 217-218
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