gospel of Thomas 25

Jesus said, "Love your brother like your soul, guard him like the pupil of your eye."

This is a very short saying from the Gospel of Thomas – one of the shortest verses. And here, Jesus is indicating something about how we should regard one another, as human beings; how we should treat each other.

Love your brother, he says, love your brother like your soul. Your brother is every other human being. Man or woman, old or young, every other human being on the planet is your brother. We are one family.

Love your brother like your soul. You see, Jesus is trying to find something that's so valuable to you, a part of you that is the most important part, the one thing that you would treasure above all else. So he picks on the soul. Love your brother like your soul. You wouldn't dispose of your soul. You wouldn't sell it off. You wouldn't do anything to harm your soul.

And this is the way we should treat each other: with a great love; a great appreciation for each other's existence; for each other's uniqueness; the individuality; the differences between us. We should celebrate all this, and find this love, this very human love for each other.

This is what Jesus is encouraging us to do. Love your brother like your soul, guard him like the pupil of your eye. Our eyes – the way we see the world – so important. We wouldn't want to damage our eye, the very pupil of the eye. It's where the world enters us. And Jesus says, guard your brother like the pupil of your eye. In other words, protect him against any danger.

So here Jesus has tried to pick up two little things within us which we would regard as so valuable that we would protect them, nourish them, not do anything to hurt them. And this is the way we should treat each other, Jesus is saying. Because Jesus knows full well, that eventually, we find ourself in a place where we are not separate from each other. And then another human being is your soul. He is the pupil of your eye. This is the level of connection that we have with each other, and with everything in existence. And until we find that truth within us for ourself, until we feel it, we should tread lightly on the earth, and treat each other with a great respect; not hurting each other, not doing anything to damage each other. But rather caring, nourishing and protecting each other.

This is the way Jesus is advising us to behave: to love each other and protect each other.