Brotherly Love

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

— Matthew 22:39

When we realize that God and Man are one and not two, we shall love both.

— The Science of Mind, page 459

Brotherly Love

An American soldier, stationed in Germany during World War I, was walking the apparently deserted streets of a small village one evening, carrying a rifle poised for action. He patrolled for several miles and not a leaf stirred. Suddenly a German soldier appeared from nowhere, walking toward him with rifle poised in the same manner. As the distance between them decreased, their fear and tension increased until finally they came face to face. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, and then, simultaneously, waved at each other and walked on.

Something within each of these men had been discovered at the same moment. What was that something? It was the Divine thread, the miraculous thread that weaves all humanity together into a breathtaking tapestry. Every thread adds beauty to Life’s Divine tapestry — nay, is necessary for the beauty of the tapestry. When one thread is missing, the whole creation suffers.

A poem of my grandfather’s describes a similar story of two soldiers who were enemies, resting on opposite sides of a stream. One muses, “I bet he has a family just like mine.” The other ponders, “I wonder if he is a farmer like me?” And so it went until finally they smiled at each other, waved, and parted without uttering a word.

The same thread ran through these soldiers as the first and weaved the same invisible message. “Yes, Lord, I am my brother’s keeper!”

I am my brother’s keeper.

I engrave this upon my soul as I go through life today.

I realize that God and Man are One.

I realize that God and Man are One.

Yes, Lord! I am my brother’s keeper!