And the man knows in full content that he is
healed of his plague. Nor would he willingly lose the scars which
record its outbreak, for they tell him what he is without God, and
set him ever looking to see that the door into the heavenly garden
stands wide for God to enter the house when it pleases him. And who
can tell whether, in the train of such an awaking, may not follow a
thousand opportunities and means of making amends to those whom he
has injured? "Nor must I fail to remind the man who has committed no
grievous crime, that except he has repented of his evil self, and
abjured all wrong, he is not safe from any, even the worst offence.
There was a time when I could not understand that he who loved not
his brother was a murderer: now I see it to be no figure of speech,
but, in the realities of man's moral and spiritual nature, an
absolute simple fact. The murderer and the unloving sit on the same
bench before the judge of eternal truth. The man who loves not his
brother, I do not say is at this moment capable of killing him, but
if the natural working of his unlove be not checked, he will
assuredly become capable of killing him. Until we love our brother,
yes, until we love our enemy, who is yet our brother, we contain
within ourselves the undeveloped germ of murder.
Pages:
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241