Changes

One of the young men who worked with Jesus one day on the steering paddle became interested in the words which he dropped from hour to hour as they toiled in the shipyard. When Jesus intimated that the Father in heaven was interested in the welfare of his children on earth, this young Greek, Anaxand, said:

One of the young men who worked with Jesus one day on the steering paddle became interested in the words which he dropped from hour to hour as they toiled in the shipyard. When Jesus intimated that the Father in heaven was interested in the welfare of his children on earth, this young Greek, Anaxand, said:

*"'''If the Gods are interested in me, then why do they not remove the cruel and unjust foreman of this workshop'''?"

*"If the Gods are interested in me, then why do they not remove the cruel and unjust foreman of this workshop?"

Jesus replied:

Jesus replied:

*"Since you know the ways of kindness and value justice, perhaps the Gods have brought this erring man near that you may lead him into this better way. Maybe you are the '''salt''' that is to make this brother more agreeable to all other men. That is, if you have not lost your savor. As it is, this man is your master in that his evil ways unfavorably influence you. Why not assert your mastery of evil by virtue of the power of goodness and thus become the master of all relations between the two of you? I predict that the good in you could overcome the evil in him if you gave it a fair and living chance. There is no adventure in the course of mortal existence more enthralling than to enjoy the exhilaration of becoming the material life partner with spiritual energy and divine truth in one of their triumphant struggles with error and evil. It is a marvelous and transforming experience to become the living channel of spiritual light to the mortal who sits in spiritual darkness. If you are more blessed with truth than is this man, his need should challenge you. Surely you are not the coward who could stand by on the seashore and watch a fellow man that could not swim perish! How much more of value is this man's soul floundering in darkness compared to his body drowning in water!"  

*"Since you know the ways of kindness and value justice, perhaps the Gods have brought this erring man near that you may lead him into this better way. Maybe you are the salt that is to make this brother more agreeable to all other men. That is, if you have not lost your savor. As it is, this man is your master in that his evil ways unfavorably influence you. Why not assert your mastery of evil by virtue of the power of goodness and thus become the master of all relations between the two of you? I predict that the good in you could overcome the evil in him if you gave it a fair and living chance. There is no adventure in the course of mortal existence more enthralling than to enjoy the exhilaration of becoming the material life partner with spiritual energy and divine truth in one of their triumphant struggles with error and evil. '''It is a marvelous and transforming experience to become the living channel of spiritual light to the mortal who sits in spiritual darkness'''. If you are more blessed with truth than is this man, his need should challenge you. Surely you are not the coward who could stand by on the seashore and watch a fellow man that could not swim perish! How much more of value is this man's soul floundering in darkness compared to his body drowning in water!"