The flames of the campfire gyrated furiously causing a shimmering light to glow on the faces of the crouched men who encircled it. The night was chilly but not unbearably so.
It was obvious who the leader was. He was the only one talking, while the others were listening intently. The leader, whom the men called the “Teacher”, was giving them another amazing lesson.
The men had been terribly curious how they could help achieve world peace. They thought peace would start within their inner circle, then spread throughout their small, middle eastern country and eventually infect the entire planet.
One man asked, “Teacher, what is the secret to peace?”
Another man bemoaned, “ We have six-hundred and thirteen laws on the books and still we have no peace.”
And yet another quizzed, “ How many more laws do we need in order to obtain this seemingly elusive peace?”
The teacher responded, “ You don't need additional laws. In fact, you only need two. Would you like to hear what they are?”
“Certainly,” the men responded in unison.
“The first is to love God with everything you’ve got, not withholding anything back. The second is to love your fellow human beings as much as you love yourself.”
The murmuring and grumbling immediately began within the small group of men.
“It’s difficult to love others when they have so many faults, “ one expressed.
“Yes.” agreed another, “ but then to love them as much as I love myself.”
“Then there’s another difficult issue of loving God with your entire being. There are people on this earth that believe in many different gods and some that don’t believe in God at all,” stated another man.
“It sounds like you guys have your work cut out for you,” the Teacher responded, “ You might want to get started right away.”
It was obvious who the leader was. He was the only one talking, while the others were listening intently. The leader, whom the men called the “Teacher”, was giving them another amazing lesson.
The men had been terribly curious how they could help achieve world peace. They thought peace would start within their inner circle, then spread throughout their small, middle eastern country and eventually infect the entire planet.
One man asked, “Teacher, what is the secret to peace?”
Another man bemoaned, “ We have six-hundred and thirteen laws on the books and still we have no peace.”
And yet another quizzed, “ How many more laws do we need in order to obtain this seemingly elusive peace?”
The teacher responded, “ You don't need additional laws. In fact, you only need two. Would you like to hear what they are?”
“Certainly,” the men responded in unison.
“The first is to love God with everything you’ve got, not withholding anything back. The second is to love your fellow human beings as much as you love yourself.”
The murmuring and grumbling immediately began within the small group of men.
“It’s difficult to love others when they have so many faults, “ one expressed.
“Yes.” agreed another, “ but then to love them as much as I love myself.”
“Then there’s another difficult issue of loving God with your entire being. There are people on this earth that believe in many different gods and some that don’t believe in God at all,” stated another man.
“It sounds like you guys have your work cut out for you,” the Teacher responded, “ You might want to get started right away.”
