and was anxious to be assured of eternal life. The prophet of God answered that though he had practised all virtues, he had left out one and that was charity. He should therefore return home and sell whatsoever he had and give to the poor, so that God would reward him with treasure in heaven. It is practising true religion to visit the orphans and widows and alleviate their sufferings. Man does not bring anything into this world with him when he is born, neither can he take anything from his amassed fortune when the call of death comes to him. Contentment with what little he has, even if it is not beyond his daily food and raiment, is godly virtue leading to happiness.
Jesus gives a sublime manifestation of humility throughout his life. He glories in speaking of himself as a servant of humanity whose pious mission in life is to minister to the poor and the weak. He who ostentatiously exalts himself, says he, before his fellowmen shall be abased by the hand of God, but whoso humbles himself before all shall win exaltation. Let him, therefore, who is hailed as the great among men, minister to the needs of the many that are far from greatness; and let him who is saluted as the chief among his compatriots act as a willing servant of the populace. Jesus gave his life a ransom for mankind and he exhorts his hearers to practise such supreme sacrifice. Man instinctively loves life, but he gains more life and nobler life by losing it as a sacrifice for the good of others, than by saving it for the love of self. The best expression of love for others is the laying down of one's life as a loving sacrifice for the good of others. So did the Son of Man offer the very life of his body for the sake of mankind. Let the children of men hold their lives ready for sacrifice for one another in their mutual need. Love is the active rule of life; sacrifice is the passive, concludes Jesus.
The religion of Jesus, as we shall see in subsequent pages, was destined soon to enter Iran as a rival to Zoroastrianism.
