Charles V. Winn, C.S.B., of Pasadena, California
Member of the Board of Lectureship of The
Mother Church,
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts
A free Lecture on Christian Science entitled "Christian Science: a Message of Light and Healing" was delivered by Charles V. Winn, C.S.B., of Pasadena, California, at Third Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, on May 2nd.
Mr. Winn, a member of the Board of Lectureship of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, spoke substantially as follows:
Mankind is ever marching forward
and onward. Humanity is continuously striving to overcome its boundaries and
limitations. It makes ceaseless efforts to attain a greater degree of progress
and to gain a fuller light on its varied problems. On Page 233 of the Christian
Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by
Mary Baker Eddy, we find this most helpful truth: "Progress is the law of
God." To stand still is impossible. We are ever marching toward the light
of Truth. Christian Science not only declares this eternal fact but shows us
clearly why it cannot be otherwise. It teaches us exact Science, an
understanding of which fulfills every righteous hope, brings to fruition every
honest desire, crowns every true purpose with success.
In the Bible we read, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." All progress has been made through more light, that is, through an increased or fuller understanding of that which is true and a greater freedom from the false and wrong. The onward urge must always be the outcome of a clearer perception of that which is true and a keener discernment of the falsity of the wrong. The light of Truth never changes divine facts; it reveals them to our uplifted gaze.
In the Christian Science textbook (p. 312) we read this definition of Deity; "God is Truth." We also learn in the Scriptures that God is the only creator, that He is the author and source of all that is real and actual. The Apostle John thus clearly states this fact: "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." Since God is infinite Truth and the only creator, all that He creates is truthful, truth-like, and expresses divine Truth. That which proceeds from Truth must express the divine character of Truth; it must abide in the light of Truth. As we understand God aright the light of Truth illumines our thinking; truthful concepts fill our consciousness; truthful ideas are our constant companions. As the mist disappears before the light of the sun, so the shadows of untruthful concepts must dissolve under the rays of Truth. A wise man of old prayed for an understanding heart. He well knew that as he understood that which is true he would judge righteously and well. True knowledge leads to truthful thinking and truthful acting. A perception of the Science of Truth must lead in the paths of Truth; it leads in no other direction. We read in Proverbs, "Understanding is a well-spring of life unto him that hath it." The light of Truth reveals that which God has created; it destroys the belief in any other creation.
Since understanding is all-important, the questions naturally arise: How is this understanding to be gained? How is this perception to be acquired? These are fair questions, and Christian Science readily answers them. In the Christian Science textbook (p. 272) we are told how truth is gained and becomes operative in our lives. "The spiritual sense of truth must be gained before Truth can be understood. This sense is assimilated only as we are honest, unselfish, loving, and meek." What an array of noble qualities! The windowpane of that mentality which has been cleansed with such heavenly virtues must readily admit the rays of truth. The healing light of the "Sun of righteousness" finds no barriers there. Most of us may think we have been on familiar terms with these qualities, honesty, unselfishness, love, and meekness, but Christian Science enhances them, exalting them in our thinking. The light of Truth shows us how they may be more easily attained and more readily retained.
God is the one infinite good, the creator of that which is good, the basis of all good, the source of all good, the promoter of all good. Since He is infinite good and divine Truth, then good is all that is true, and Truth, alone, is good. Good is never untruthful, and Truth is never unlike good. If anything is good, it is true; and if it is true, it is good. All things were made by Him, Truth, and Truth could not and would not make anything untruthful or lacking in truth. Truth must express itself truthfully in all that it does. Good is Truth, and Truth is good, and nothing can change this eternal fact. We are thinking honestly, truthfully, when we are thinking along this line or in accordance with divine facts. As we are thinking in accordance with truth and good, the light of Truth comes in, the darkness of false belief goes out. Many have had the experience of striving unsuccessfully to solve a problem, when suddenly the solution would appear. What happened? The true facts became apparent; the darkness of ignorance and misconception were dispelled. Our thinking had been aligned with that which was right; we had been thinking honestly and correctly, thus bringing about a correct solution.
God is infinite Truth. All true ideas emanate from Truth; hence there is a right or true idea about things. We never stop thinking; we are always entertaining some thought or concept. Since we are always engaged in some form of thinking, it is evident that the only true way is to keep our windows open to the light of Truth, that God's ideas may flood our consciousness so that we may have true concepts. It takes no more effort to think honestly than dishonestly; to entertain a right idea than a false concept. Sometimes when one dials his radio he finds a very undesirable program is being broadcast. By turning the dial very slightly a beautiful program may be heard. God is perfect Truth, and there is no such thing as near truth or almost perfect truth. To be strictly honest we must think in accord with undeviating truth. A lady was suffering with a very painful difficulty. One day a slight error was uncovered in her thinking and, although it seemed a very trivial thing, she determined to eradicate it and to replace it with truth. In a short time the difficulty entirely disappeared. In certain large buildings are many switches which control the lights, but there is a master switch which controls all the lights. True, divine thinking, which never deviates from the standard of divine Truth and infinite good, is the master switch which maintains an unbroken connection with the source of all good, and when we conform our thinking to this divine standard our mental homes are filled with light and healing.
Since God is infinite Truth, His law is a law of Truth. His law can only bring to pass that which is truthful and right. God's law could not bring to pass anything untruthful or unrighteous. The power of Truth and good could not operate through any law of unrighteousness. A suppositional law of evil is lawless. It is less than law, and only a belief, without foundation or support. God's law brings the light of Truth: it dispels the darkness of error. God's law promotes health, not disease; harmony, not discord; abundance, not lack. It brings to pass good and righteousness, but never evil or wrong. "The light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." Darkness and evil cannot comprehend the light of Truth and good; neither can they interfere with the operation of the law of good. As we think honestly and truthfully about God's law, its unfailing supremacy and wholly beneficent nature, the light of Truth annuls and reverses the supposed law of ignorance and evil, and healing inevitably follows. A lady who had lost the sight of one eye by reason of the work in which she had been engaged — her work having been a perfectly normal and right work — became interested in Christian Science, and through God's law, which brings light and healing, her sight was restored. It was only right for her to enjoy what God's law had divinely provided for her. "That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
How beautifully Paul describes
God's law, which brings light and healing, in Romans as the "law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" which "hath made me free from the law
of sin and death"! No one was ever in bondage to truth. The spurious
bondage to darkness and ignorance is only a seeming bondage. When we know God
as He really is — infinite good and omnipotent Truth — we are freed from the
baseless and wholly dishonest laws of sin and wrong. The light of Truth
inspires man with holy desires and noble thoughts, for Truth has no false
desires to impart. Man has inherited from God a noble nature and a holy
character, and anything else is utterly foreign to man's true being. We read in
James of the "Father of lights," and, as the offspring of God, man is
a child of light, heir of holiness, the reflector of good. As we entertain only
a true, Godlike concept of man, the imperfect and false concept fades out: the
truthful, beautiful, and good remains in thought. The real replaces the unreal.
By thinking honestly, in accordance with divine Truth and eternal facts, we not only enjoy good in the present, but we see clearly that good is all that ever has been. Since Truth, God, is the only origin, the only truthful position is the scientific fact that evil never was in the realm of reality. God is infinite good and unchanging Truth, and has never known anything about His creation but that which is true and good. All things were made by Him, and what He did not make, not only is not true now, but never has been true. As one version of the Bible puts it, "The light shineth in darkness and the darkness can never overpower it." Light was never transmuted into darkness; immutable truth never became mutable error. How easy it is to gain a scientific sense of forgiveness when we understand this vital fact. All slights, past hurts, old wounds are quickly healed when we see that "from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."
We learn in Christian Science that evil is forgiven, in the true sense, as it is destroyed. We can never destroy an entity or an actuality, but we see the unreality of that which God has not made, and then it is forgiven, annihilated. God is everywhere, and man abides in God's presence. Man has never been separated from God, and that which is wrong has never come into good's presence. Christian Science enables us to rejoice in ever-present good, and as we are conscious of good's ever-presence the shadows of the past are erased by God's law of light and healing. Shadows are no part of the landscape, and evil has never been any part of God's creation. We stand on holy ground when we see what Love hath done and unsee that which has never entered into the creation of God. We see that "the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth." Evil, having no history, has never been recorded on the eternal tablets of Truth.
A certain man, having been greatly wronged and deprived of what was lawfully his, used all legitimate human means to regain what was rightfully his, but to no avail. Then, after realizing the supremacy of God's law, he dismissed the matter from his thought and waited patiently on God. After some time, amicable relations were restored, all misunderstanding was overcome, and that which was rightfully his was reclaimed. When we refuse to dwell on the evil and wrong, either past or present, God's law becomes operative in our experience, and His healing truth is manifested in error's destruction. As we rejoice in ever-present good, we cease to mourn over a shadowy and unreal past. We stand in God's light: darkness is no longer o'er shadowing us.
The light of Truth reveals to us God's man, Truth's man, the real man, the only man, as we think truthfully. There are not two men, but one man — the real man. In the light of Truth we see this man, the man of God's creating. Our Leader has told us in her book, "Unity of Good" (p. 46), that "the scientific man and his Maker are here; and you would be none other than this man, if you would subordinate the fleshly perceptions to the spiritual sense and source of being." In Christian Science, we are not destroying a mortal man, but a false concept of man. If one were entertaining a false concept of a tree and that false concept were destroyed, nothing that belonged to the tree would be destroyed, but only a false belief about the tree — something entirely foreign to and apart from the tree. The Bible tells us that we "are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." The shadows and dark beliefs of disease, sin, poverty, fear, and ignorance have no association with man, for all that man has comes from God, and God could never have any association with evil. When a man is wrongly charged with an offense, if he can prove that he was not at the place where the alleged offense was committed at the time it was committed, he is absolved from any punishment for wrongdoing. Man is always present with God, for his "life is hid with Christ in God." Hence we have a perfect alibi.
As divine Truth and true ideas are
more fully understood, limitations disappear, and dominion is gained. All human
limitations result from limited concepts of God and man. God is infinite Mind,
infinite good, boundless Love, eternal Life. Man is God's reflection, and
reflects the infinitude of good. Since man is the reflection of Truth, he has
access to all the ideas of Truth. All limitation is the result of darkness and
ignorance. The light of Truth enlightens us, exalts our vision, increases our
understanding, enlarges our capacity to enjoy good and to be good. He who is
honest and faithful to the great fact of the infinitude and allness
of good has been called "out of darkness into his marvellous
light." He finds his cup running over. He no longer thinks of health as
material, or limited by material laws, mortal beliefs, or material conditions,
but thinks of it as spiritual, a gift of God, unlimited and unimpaired. He does
not think of goodness as personal, human, or restricted, but as God's infinite
expression of His own divine nature. He does not think of ability as dependent
on a finite, carnal mentality called brain, or material consciousness, but as
the reflection of infinite Mind, manifesting Himself through man to express His
multifarious ideas. Thus handicaps drop away, fetters are broken, limitations
are annulled, capacity is increased, failure is overcome, ability is enhanced,
thought is expanded. "Ye are the light of the world," we read in the
Bible, and in the reflection of God's light and truth, depletion, restriction,
and inadequacy are unknown.
How beautifully our great Master, Jesus the Christ, broke all the fetters of limitation in his ministry! He declared, "I am the light of the world." That divine light comforted the sorrowing, healed the sick, uplifted the fallen, strengthened the weak, raised the dead, unfettered the handicapped. How beautifully this light of good, as manifested by Jesus, released the demoniac from his unhappy conditions! God had made him upright, but the false beliefs of evil had seemed to enchain him and rob him of his true manhood. With that ineffable light which our Master reflected, those chains were broken and the demoniac went free. They found him sitting "clothed, and in his right mind." God's law, which brings light and healing, had brought peace instead of turmoil, calm instead of violence, normality in place of derangement, the garments of righteousness in place of fear and insanity.
Among the noble qualities which bring light and healing is unselfishness. How conspicuous it was in the life of our Master, and it was an inevitable accomplishment of his healing ministry. It is as necessary to him who would understand Truth as a telescope is requisite to see the distant stars. It is the companion of joy, the handmaiden of power, the basis of all true success. It sheds the full glow of truth on our path; it is the highway to heaven; it leads to the throne of God. Isaiah tells us that as we practice this heavenly virtue "then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily." God is infinite Love, and man is His image or reflection. He exists to express and reflect God's goodness, power, and love. When he carries out this divine plan he is in harmony with the law of right and truth. Harmony reigns; God is glorified. Mortals try to reverse the divine order: try to get, instead of to give, absorb instead of reflect, hold on instead of manifest. Christian Science reverses all this, re-establishes the divine order, and through its law of light and healing enables us to lay hold of the blessings of God.
God's law, which brings light and
healing, is always manifested through prayer. All our Master's works were
accomplished through prayer, and all the healing work of Christian Science is
brought about through prayer. Since prayer is the divine agency through which
healing and redemption come to humanity, it is vitally important to know how to
pray aright. We read in Proverbs, "The prayer of the upright is his
delight." And in our textbook (p. 446) we are told that no one can
practice Christian Science, which pours forth light and healing, except from
the most exalted and unselfish motives. True prayer brings forth the fruit of
the Spirit, but those fruits can
spring only from the seeds of
unselfish thinking and holy purposes. It is now a well established fact that
color is not inherent in an object but in light. The color of an object is due
to the kind of colored rays which that object reflects. In a dark room the
objects reflect no color, but the instant the light is let in, the colors of
the objects become apparent. God is infinite Love, infinite good, wholly
beneficent, unutterably kind. This is the basis of all true healing, the
understanding of which must bring harmony to every discordant situation. Man
and the universe are the gift, the manifestation of God's infinite love, the
emanation of His divine goodness. True prayer is the utilization of this
infinite Love, the appropriation of His transcendent gifts. We appropriate these
gifts and our prayers are answered as our thinking reflects God, as our love
partakes of His love, as we are at one with His holy purposes and plan.
Selfishness no more enters into true prayer than light enters into darkness, or right brings about wrong. Prayer does not change anything that is true. It does not change divine facts; it only discovers them. Prayer brings to light the genuine and perfect man of God's creating. It brings us into harmony with the real status of being, the good and the true. All selfishness is induced by the belief that man is mortal, material, and fleshly. From this perverted concept of man arise selfish desires, self-thinking, selfish aims, and self-gratification. Such false conditions must obscure our vision of the real man. The real man reflects the qualities of God, which are the exact opposite of selfish aims and desires. Every time one manifests a loving thought he expresses God, the source of all love. Every time one reflects a truthful thought he expresses God, the source of all truth. Every time one reflects a thought of life, he expresses divine Life. As we express the qualities of God we are identifying ourselves with the real man, the man of God's creating. In this way our lives become living prayers.
In one of our Western States is a large observatory. In that observatory is a powerful telescope, by means of which beautiful vistas of the heavenly bodies may be seen. Not only the workers there enjoy the views of the heavens, but on certain nights the public is allowed to look through the telescope and enjoy the same expansive views. True prayer, the prayer of truth, is broad and far-reaching. It is never narrow, provincial, or selfish. God's love is always universal and limitless, and the prayer of truth, that brings light and healing, must express His unlimited love. The Bible tells us that "the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends." Jesus was the most unselfish man who ever lived, and his prayers were the most successful prayers ever uttered. By means of his prayers the sick were healed, the dead were raised, the hungry fed, and the deformed made whole. Jesus' prayers not only healed individuals but contributed to the universal good. The power of God's healing goodness cannot be confined. It flows out to all. It heals spontaneously: it is unlabored.
In one of our large cities is a very beautiful building. At night it is illuminated by a battery of floodlights. Not only the owners of the building enjoy its beauty and grandeur, but millions of passers-by have the same enjoyment. The unselfish prayer, that brings light and healing, is leavening the whole of human thought. It is all-embracing; its blessings are unrestrained. Through unselfish prayer many others besides the one who utters it gain more expansive views of God's goodness and love. Such prayer enables one to climb the heights of holiness where one can see God's holy — wholly good, wholly right, wholly true, wholly lovely — creation.
A man was in great need of healing and Christian Science was mentioned to him. A practitioner was called and, in talking with one very near to the man, said that if she would read to him it would be of great assistance to the practitioner and patient. She replied that she was not particularly interested in Christian Science, but if any effort on her part could help anyone else she would be glad to make the effort. So she began to read Christian Science literature to the one who so sorely needed healing. She, herself, had a so-called organic disease which had been pronounced incurable and to which she had become reconciled. After reading for a while, and trying to help this loved one, she found herself healed of this so-called incurable disease. The blessings of unselfish efforts are never restricted. Like the wild flowers that grow on the mountainside, whose fragrance fills the air and whose beauty is shared and enjoyed by all, so the fragrance of loving deeds and unselfish prayers is unconfined. As we reflect the "Father of lights" many travelers see the light and find the way to the Father's house.
Another element of prayer which gives us the spiritual sense of truth, which brings light and healing, which is closely allied to unselfishness and leads us nearer to God, is good deeds. Our great Master said, "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." Prayer is not only a desire for good, but an actual doing of good. The desire for good and the actual doing of good must go hand in hand; desire must be translated into doing, aspiration into activity, wishing into working. We learn through doing; develop through demonstration. By doing right, translating our desires into good deeds, we see the science of right. The doing of right brings us such a blessing that we see why it is the right thing to do. This is not blind obedience, but it is proving our way, demonstrating Principle. Good deeds show us that we are on the right road: they vindicate themselves, they bring their own reward. Good deeds are their own compensation; "virtue is its own reward;" right endeavors reveal their own reason for existing, their basis for being.
Everyone knows the difference between a good deed and a wrong one, and as we do that which is right, the righteousness of our deeds becomes apparent. God's unfailing guidance is surely his whose only desire is to do kind and noble acts. Honest desires and noble deeds are protected by God. His power brings them to righteous fulfillment; they are never fruitless.
During our school days, when we were being taught how to solve problems, often the teacher would go to the blackboard and work out an example for us, placing the proper figures on the board. Then we would apply the same truth she had applied, and when we had obtained the right answer we knew that the truth she had taught us was correct. And likewise, as we perform good deeds we understand the power which impelled those good deeds, and the nature of that power becomes apparent. If there is any doubt about what to do, uncertainty and confusion will quickly disappear when we ask ourselves: What is the kindly thing to do? What is the loving thing to do? A kindly thought will bring forth a kind deed; a loving thought, a loving act, a gracious thought, an act of grace. Righteous deeds speedily spring forth when our hearts are illumined by the "Sun of righteousness."
We defined the kingdom of heaven here and now by walking in the light of Truth, being truly unselfish and obedient to good. Heaven has been thought of as an experience following the resurrection. The teachings of Christian Science explain clearly and simply the meaning of heaven. In our textbook we have the definition of "resurrection" (Science and Health, p. 593): "Spiritualization of thought; a new and higher idea of immortality, or spiritual existence; material belief yielding to spiritual understanding." Then heaven is a divine state of harmony, to be entered into through true prayer, purified thinking, holy states of consciousness. Since everyone may learn to pray aright, express unselfishness, have the Mind of Christ, and reflect the light of Truth, everyone may have the joys of heaven here and now.
Wherever God is, heaven is, and since God is never absent from His universe we are in the presence of God at all times; we are in heaven, we have the joys of heaven. To the one who prays aright and abides in the light of Truth, every day is a resurrection day, a day spent in heaven. No doubt many here have had the experience of being on a mountain top where the sun was shining brightly and of seeing the valley below enshrouded in a dense fog which obscured the view of the villages below. One never for a moment doubted the existence of the villages, knowing that the fog only obstructed their view. True prayer brings light and healing, lifts us above the fogs of sense, and enables us to rise into the realm of the real, the kingdom of heaven, the jurisdiction of good. As one of our hymns so clearly states it (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 284):
"Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
The Christian's native air:
His watchword, overcoming death:
He enters heaven with
prayer."
Of all the elements of prayer which give us the spiritual sense of Truth, which brings the light of good into human lives, and which leads nearer to God, none is more vital than love. When embodied in our thinking it leads to higher attainments, greater achievements, abiding health, and a truly satisfying life. As it permeates our thinking we inherit that beautiful promise of the Scriptures, "Thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning." When love is uppermost in thought we find our prayers answered: they are dynamic; they reflect divine power. God is Love and God is the only power, so the more unselfed love we express, the more power we have. Every loving thought has its source in God who is All-power; so a loving thought is a powerful thought. As darkness is powerless in the presence of light, so anything contrary to love is powerless. Since God is Love, and all-wise, then Love is the only intelligence, the only wisdom. The more of love that we reflect the more wisdom and understanding is ours.
God is the one supreme activity of the universe, and God is Love. The more of love that we express, the more of true activity is manifested in us. God is the only substance; so the more of love that we radiate the more our lives will be enriched and ennobled. The more our thinking is permeated with love, the more we express that infinite Love where pettiness, finiteness, and limitations are unknown. The basis of all Christian Science healing is the allness of divine Love, and any prayer that is based on that eternal fact never can and never will return void.
In our textbook we read (p. 266), "Man is the idea of Spirit; he reflects the beatific presence, illuming the universe with light." Since "man is the idea of Spirit" or infinite good, reflecting the presence of light and love, he is not the medium of disease, the slave of sin, the servant of evil, the resister of good. The prayer that is based on such eternal facts heals and delivers from all that is unlovely.
I have a friend who was in the last states of diabetes. He formerly had ridiculed and derided what he thought was Christian Science. No one ever opposes Christian Science; he only opposes what he thinks Christian Science is. One day my friend dragged himself down to his office and then went to see a Christian Science practitioner. He went home that night a well man. When his wife noticed the great change, she said, "Why, you look like a new man." He replied, "I am a new man." What had happened? The light of divine Love, through true Christian prayer, had dispelled the darkness of false belief.
I once had a friend who was the victim of both the drug and the liquor habit. Christian Science came into his life and he was healed and redeemed.
The man of divine Love's creating desires only good, is attracted by good and is satisfied only with good. He learns that true satisfaction comes not from without but from within, from a purified and uplifted consciousness that is at peace with God. That peace is abiding and eternal. It can never lapse, be lost or be taken away. In the Bible we read, "Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness." We are the children of divine Love, the heirs of eternal light, the reflectors of boundless good. We are not in bondage to darkness, ignorance, fear or superstition. The healing prayer of light and truth dispels these shadows, guides us onward from Egyptian bondage to the promised land of joyous, fetterless being and harmonious living.
Nothing is more essential to true prayer, that brings light and healing, than humility and meekness. It has been well said that of all the flowers in the garden of God none is more fragrant than the sweet flower of humility. It forms a perfect border for all the other flowers of Christian grace. It fits in everywhere, and is never out of place, but is a fitting companion of every virtue and of every holy thought. True meekness has nothing to do with self-depreciation, subserviency, or self-limitation. The meek man is "strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." He knows that all goodness is the reflected goodness of God and that by reason of that reflection he manifests the wisdom of God, the power of God, the ideas of God. His step is firm, his actions timely; his speech is gracious; his life is one of progressive achievement. He knows that without God's help there is no true accomplishment, but that with God's help he can do anything that is right and true. The man who is egotistical, self-satisfied, and proud thereby shuts the door on progress; he is standing in his own light; he is looking in the wrong direction. When we travel through the country we carefully read the road signs in order to keep on the right road and reach our destination. The road signs on the highway of God are all written in the language of love, humility, meekness, and purity. As we follow them we never mistake our way. They are infallible guides to abiding joy and success.
After suffering for some time from a supposedly incurable disease, a lady took up the study of Christian Science, but her healing was delayed. One day a friend was calling on her, and this lady said that her time here was seemingly very short, and that it was a shame she had to go and leave her two small children. The friend replied, "Yes, and it is all so needless." On being asked for an explanation, the friend replied, "It is because you have never learned that 'without me ye can do nothing,'" as Jesus said of the Christ. With this thought there came a great awakening, and the lady began to see that she had nothing of her own, but that all she had was by reflection, that all which was good was but the goodness of God reflected through man. Since all belonged to God, any form of good could never be lost. In a short time she was well enough to do her own work, taking care of her house and children, and later became a Christian Science practitioner. Man cannot lose God, and God is never out of touch with man.
As this glorious light of Truth which Christian Science reveals comes into our lives, we are increasingly grateful to that messenger of light and healing to this age, our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy. For many, many years she earnestly sought the light of Truth. In the darkest hour of her life, when all human hope had fled, the light of Truth shone into her darkened consciousness, bringing healing in its wings. She found herself well and free. Then, with that great love which characterized her entire life, she devoted her life to bringing this healing light to others. This light is now shining over land and sea. In the Christian Science periodicals are found testimonies of healing from all over the world, thus showing how this light has penetrated to the farthest corners of the globe. Through its ministry the sick are healed, the sinful reformed, and the sorrowing are comforted. Its blessings are for every one who ponders and gives heed to its glorious truths. Our hearts are filled with gratitude to her whose fidelity, courage, humility, and love have made all these blessings available. She was Truth's torch-bearer, and what a joy it is to keep aglow that light which she kindled for us all!
Truth's voice is gently but lovingly saying to us all (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 367):
Walk in the light, so thou shalt know
That fellowship of love
His spirit only can bestow
Who reigns in light above.
· · · · · · ·
Walk in the light, and thou shalt see
Thy path, though thorny, bright;
For God by grace shall dwell with thee,
And God Himself is Light."
[Delivered May 2, 1938, at Third Church of Christ, Scientist, New York, New York, and published in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle of Brooklyn, New York, May 7, 1938. Breaks have been added to this transcript to reduce the size of some extremely long paragraphs.]