The word "touchstone" derives from the year 1481 in written records. It was coined to show why silver and gold were so precious. If silver and gold touch a stone (a black silliceous stone such as quartz) the color of the streak left on the black stone would determine the piece's quality. The figurative use of the word was not far behind its coining. In 1533, the idea that something is a standard for everything else to be compared by surfaced. So the meaning still is today.
When it comes to the teachings of the Great Teacher, I think there is one characteristic that pervades his teachings. It is best exemplified in the story from Luke that starts, "There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, and beat him up, leaving him half dead." The whole story is in Luke 10.25-37. In the story, a despicable human being helps another human being who badly needed his help. The humans who had status in society saw the same situation, but did not step in to help.
The idea of helping someone whose path has intersected with our own is the touchstone of Christian teaching. The color of the streaks of other characteristics do not have the same quality as acting for those who are in our path and need help. Christianity is but a religion if it exists without the streak that shows the high quality of rendering help. The saying is true, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." That's not in the Master's teachings, but it is a modern paraphrase of the story found in Luke. I hope my next 30 years reflect the touchstone of the Teacher's words.
When it comes to the teachings of the Great Teacher, I think there is one characteristic that pervades his teachings. It is best exemplified in the story from Luke that starts, "There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, and beat him up, leaving him half dead." The whole story is in Luke 10.25-37. In the story, a despicable human being helps another human being who badly needed his help. The humans who had status in society saw the same situation, but did not step in to help.
The idea of helping someone whose path has intersected with our own is the touchstone of Christian teaching. The color of the streaks of other characteristics do not have the same quality as acting for those who are in our path and need help. Christianity is but a religion if it exists without the streak that shows the high quality of rendering help. The saying is true, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." That's not in the Master's teachings, but it is a modern paraphrase of the story found in Luke. I hope my next 30 years reflect the touchstone of the Teacher's words.
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