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
Charles V. Winn, C.S.B., of Pasadena, California, a member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, recently delivered a lecture on Christian Science under the auspices of Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist, Oakland, California, in the Oakland Municipal Auditorium Theater, 12th and Fallon Streets, Oakland.
The lecturer was introduced by Mrs. Laura M. Stevens, First Reader of the church, who said:
Friends:
On behalf of Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist, Oakland, it is my joyous privilege to welcome you this afternoon to this lecture on Christian Science, entitled: "Christian Science: The Science of Divine Power." Our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures": "To-day the healing power of Truth is widely demonstrated as an immanent, eternal Science, instead of a phenomenal exhibition. Its appearing is the coming anew of the gospel of 'on earth peace, good-will to men.'"
My introduction to Christian Science came over twenty years ago when I accepted an invitation to attend a Sunday morning church service. I knew nothing about Christian Science, except that it was a religion that believed in divine healing.
The spiritual uplift, the joy and peace that I experienced, completely convinced me that it was the Truth. In the years which have followed I have had many opportunities to prove the healing and sustaining power of Truth as taught in Christian Science, and I am most grateful to say that it has never failed to meet my every need.
It gives me great pleasure to introduce our lecturer, Mr. Charles V. Winn, of Pasadena, California, who is a member of the Board of Lectureship of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts.
Mr. Winn.
The lecturer spoke substantially as follows:
If one were to describe the age in which we live, he could do so in no more apt words than these: "This is the age of power." Through invention, discovery, and research, many forces and forms of power are now available to mankind to make living more harmonious and human effort less inharmonious and laborious. So rapidly have these discoveries come that we only have to look back a few years to realize how great our progress has been. When we realize that we can send a message around the world in a few seconds, that we can cross a continent in less than a day, that a beautiful program can be radiocast over the entire country, thus giving pleasure to millions of listeners, we begin to comprehend how far we have come and limitation has been annulled.
While we are grateful for this
advancement, yet we must face the fact squarely that something more than
material progress is necessary to bring us true happiness, abiding joy, and
permanent health. As we look out on the world today and see its sorrow, its
suffering, its strife and tumult, surely we must admit that humanity is still
far from the coveted goal of true happiness and lasting peace. The outlook,
however, is most cheering. Mortal throes of suffering often presage a great
spiritual awakening, and so in the midst of our darkness and unrest, Christian
Science has come to this age to reveal the Science of divine power, which will
ensure tranquility, strengthen courage, promote success, destroy sin,
exterminate disease, and reveal life eternal. Its mission is to carry on the
work which Isaiah prophesied of the spiritual power that should attend the
coming or appearing of the Christ to human consciousness, to "preach good
tidings unto the meek;" to "bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives;" to "appoint unto them that mourn in Zion,
to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of
praise for the spirit of heaviness." It has come to prove and demonstrate that the
power which is divinely adequate to bring to us these great blessings is here
and now. Christian Science shows us clearly the nature of this power, how it
acts and how it is made available in every hour of need.
We may be in doubt about many things, but of one thing we are absolutely certain: we know that creation is. We know that we live, think, and express consciousness. We constantly cognize creation in its many forms and varied manifestations. We are surrounded by multitudinous objects which we cognize and which engage our thought. We also know that some power or creative cause brought these things into being. The very fact that these things exist is conclusive evidence that they must have an origin or basis of being from which they derive their existence. The most important fact for anyone to know is the nature of this power or creator, how it operates, and the character of its creation. In Jeremiah we read, "He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion." Wisdom is an attribute of God, divine, all-knowing intelligence or Mind. Knowing and understanding are qualities of Mind, divine intelligence. Intelligence emanates from God; the source of all knowledge. Then the creator or supreme cause of the universe must be a divine, infinite Mind, the supreme, all-knowing intelligence, wisdom, or power called God. This simple statement in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy covers the whole ground (p. 295): "God creates and governs the universe, including man. The universe is filled with spiritual ideas, which He evolves, and they are obedient to the Mind that makes them."
Having learned the nature of the creator, we can now understand the character of God's creation. When we discern the essence of the supreme cause we can readily perceive the nature of the effect. What God has brought into being must express His qualities and character. In order that we may gain a clear discernment of God's handiwork Mrs. Eddy employs other terms for Deity. Besides Mind, intelligence, and wisdom, she refers to God as Soul, Spirit, good, Principle, Love, Life, and Truth. God's creation reflects Him, His nature, character, and attributes. The manifestation of Soul must be Soul-full, the expression of Truth must be truthful and right. That which is the emanation of good must express goodness, virtue, and righteousness. That which has its origin in Love must be lovely, beautiful, healthy, and wholesome. That which comes from Spirit is spiritual, holy, pure, and perfect. As we read in the Bible: "The works of his hands are verity and judgment. . . . They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness."
Since God is infinite good and the
works of His hands are verity and judgment, His creation must be right, true,
and good. Every Christian creed assigns to God three great attributes, namely,
omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. The power of infinite good is
always operating in God's creation; the presence of infinite good is the only
presence there; the all-knowing God alone knows the facts about true being.
This understanding of God enables us to lay hold upon the divine power and thus
make it operative in our lives. The Bible declares that "in him we live,
and move, and have our being;" then in divine reality we must be in the
realm where good is supreme and unopposed; we must be in the presence of good
and never in the presence of evil; we must be at one with intelligent good and
forever separate from ignorance and wrong. The human mind would have us believe
that there are two powers operating in creation, but we learn in Christian
Science that there is only one and that is God's power, the power of good. It
would have us believe that while good is present, evil is also present and
opposing good. "In him we live, and move, and have our being," so
true creation must live in the presence of good, move in the presence of good,
and have its being in the presence of good.
Since we are always in the presence of God, that which is real is never outside the realm of good, is never beyond the jurisdiction of God, and is never separated from the activity of God. A realization of this great truth makes us conscious of the eternal fact that the divine power of God is always available, always at hand, and is ours to appropriate at all times, under all circumstances. Divine power is always accessible to man. God gave man dominion over all the earth, and that divine dominion must include the ability to utilize God's power and presence. This gives man a mastery that renders evil impotent and powerless. He sees that man's harmony is not determined by outward conditions, but by inward grace; not by evil beliefs, but by divine facts.
A Christian Scientist once found himself in a situation where a violent epidemic was raging. The conditions were such that it did not seem either right or wise for him to leave his environment. He knew that, despite the outward seeming, the only power that was operating there was God's power, the power of good, which was a law of protection to all that was right and a law of destruction to that which was wrong; that God's power was promoting that which was good and was thwarting that which was evil. As a result, complete immunity from evil was experienced, and his every duty was performed joyously and righteously. A man who is in a well-lighted house can see and enjoy the loveliness that is there; the darkness from without cannot in any way interfere with his harmony and joy. The understanding of God's all-power keeps man in the presence of good, where the light of Truth is ever shining and where the darkness of evil never comes. The light from a well-illumined house can shine out into the darkness, but the darkness cannot extinguish the light.
As we understand and utilize power divine, we are concerned more with the good and true and less with the unreal and false. False theology has attempted to frighten men into reformation through a fear of evil and its seeming consequences. Christian Science shows us that true progress and reformation come from the love of good and not from fear of evil. In the study of mathematics we do not learn its science by fear of making mistakes but by experiencing the favorable results of applying it correctly. The Science of divine power shows us how to attain the blessings of right doing and thus avoid the lack of blessings which is the penalty for wrong doing. As we see the glory and grandeur of goodness, we see the unworthiness, the undesirability, the falsity of the wrong. One definition of "sin" is, "failure to realize in conduct and character the moral ideal." As we understand the supremacy of divine good we cannot fall short of the ideal; we are uplifted to the highest and best. The Scriptures define sin as "the transgression of the law." We have always thought of sin as wrong doing, but primarily sin is wrong thinking. If sin were never entertained in thought, it never would be manifested. If it were never in consciousness, it would never be outwardly expressed; it never would appear in conduct or experience.
Our great Master, Jesus the Christ, was the most successful reformer and healer that the world has ever known. Why? It was because he understood the Science of divine power. He knew that God's power was the only power. He knew that God's power was everywhere present, that it extended through all space, was always active, unfailingly operative, and uniformly supreme.
Time, heredity, or any other mortal beliefs could not prevent Jesus from proving that God's power is supreme and that man is subject to no other. How grandly he proved this in the case of the man who lay at the pool of Bethesda! According to the Scriptures, this man had been in that condition thirty and eight years, but when the Science of divine power was brought to bear upon the situation it is recorded that "immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked." The irresistible power of good restored him to his rightful condition of perfection and harmony. No matter how long a wrong condition has seemed to continue, it cannot stay or withstand the power of infinite good, the presence of limitless Love. Jesus then followed this lovely healing with that beautiful admonition: "Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." It is as if Jesus had said: "Behold, you are made whole. I have revealed to you your holy, wholly good status as a child of God, sinless, pure, and free. Never again accept as true or real the unholy belief that man is fallen, sinful, or evil. As you see yourself as a son of the Most High you cannot sin or experience a failure to realize in conduct and character the moral ideal, the good and true."
As we gain a greater understanding
of this power divine we attain the forward look, we pursue the upward way, we
rise to greater heights. God's man is never limited or cramped. Good is
infinite, and there is no limit to our enjoyment or appropriation of it. God's
power is unlimited, and there must be an unlimited utilization of it. When one
is facing a seemingly impossible situation we sometimes hear it said that he is
at the end of his rope. He may be at the end of his human resources, but he can
never reach the end of inexhaustible good. All that is right proceeds from God,
and His power is adequate to protect it, defend it, and maintain it. This puts
us on the positive side, where we are concerned less with what evil is trying
to do and are most vitally concerned with what God has done. When assailed with
hate we think of infinite Love; when faced with error we fill our consciousness
with infinite Truth; when confronted with death we realize the infinitude of
Life. When disease would attack us we see the infinite abundance of God-created
health; when the streams of error try to engulf us we dip into the waters of
never-failing Truth.
In all human systems of healing the time element seems to be an important factor. Human law says that certain diseases must have a certain duration before recovery can take place; that they must progress through certain states and stages before relief can come; that if they have reached a certain point recovery is impossible. When the Science of divine power is understood, all these false laws are utterly destroyed. These false beliefs are human vagaries and have no divine sanction or support. Being unsupported by divine power, they are powerless and unreal. In Jesus' ministry the time element was entirely banished and annulled. The power of good is eternally operative and immediate in its activity. In the records of Jesus' healings we read, "Immediately his leprosy was cleansed," "Immediately their eyes received sight," "Immediately the fever left," "Immediately the man was made whole." Through His divine power God maintains His creation in perfection and completeness. The Science of divine power enables us to see this fact, and then harmony is made manifest.
I had a friend who lost the sight
of one eye while serving in the British Army. He was perfectly healed in
Christian Science, and his sight was fully restored. Surely the divine power
that creates sight must maintain real or spiritual sight. Not one idea of good
that God puts into His creation could ever disappear from that creation. God's
power is everywhere, and the manifestation of that power must be everywhere. It
must bring into active expression every form of good. Good is never
unexpressed, unmanifested, inactive, dormant, or hidden. Every true and good
idea comes from God and is forever reflected. Christian Science opens our
vision to cognize it and appropriate it. The watcher on the mountaintop sees
the sunrise long before the one who is in the valley because he is looking from
a higher vantage point. Spiritual vision lifts thought to divine heights, where
we watch for Truth's appearing and look away from the shadows in the valley.
Health and harmony always appear when we look for them in the right direction
and in the right place.
As we understand this power divine we gain the Science of true government. God is the only creator and His government is the only government. His control is the only control. His influence is the only influence. In the Bible we read, "Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might." He who is all-power is all-governing. God's man is a God-governed man. God governs man through immutable law, and as we conform to His law, His government is supreme in our affairs. In the Christian Science textbook (p. 106) we learn that "God has endowed man with inalienable rights, among which are self-government, reason, and conscience." These rights can never be taken away, for they are bestowed by God, and God safeguards them. What is this self-government which is man's divine right? The real man is made in God's image and likeness and, according to the Scriptures, has dominion over all the earth. Our work is to identify ourselves with this man and express His Godlike qualities. As we do so, we cease to be controlled by evil or wrong. When our thoughts are permeated with justice and fairness, injustice and unfairness cease to operate in our experience. When justice and fairness operate in the realm of Truth, injustice and unfairness fade from human experience.
A man accepted a contract to do a
certain piece of work. When he got into the actual work he found that the plans
had been improperly drawn and that if he went ahead on that basis serious
results might ensue. He then went ahead along the right lines and did the work
correctly. He apparently lost a considerable sum. The Science of divine power
always operates to establish the right and brings a sure reward. As a result of
this right knowing the contractor was not only paid the full contract price and
a very liberal bonus, but in addition was paid back what he apparently lost and
a very substantial bonus on that. Truth always prevails when we rely radically
upon it.
The divine power is on the side of health, not disease; harmony, not discord; joy, not suffering. God has created only that which is good, and God's power cannot bring to pass anything ungoodlike. The harmony of music cannot produce discord; the principle of mathematics does not cause errors. Perfection cannot result in imperfection. All that has its basis in God is right and is never unrighteous and wrong. As this grand fact is understood we gain a true faith and attain freedom from fear and belief in evil. All fear is based upon the belief that there is an evil power that can harm one. There is no such power. The power that is divine and wholly good cannot injure anyone.
How often Jesus said to his patients, "Be not afraid"! Would he have said this if fear had any legitimate basis? Jesus utterly destroyed fear, for he knew that it was unreal and baseless. When he reached forth, touched the leper, and said, "Be thou clean," he proved that there was no evil contagion and that he was not afraid of it; when he fed the multitude in the wilderness, even though the supply seemed woefully inadequate, he proved that good was abundant and that lack was false and unreal. When he passed through the angry mob unharmed he proved that hate was devoid of power to harm or injure when Love's supremacy was cognized and understood. When he called Lazarus back from the tomb he proved that Life is eternal and death only a shadow which is powerless to frighten man or hold him in bondage to mortality. In the realm of reality there are no inherent evil conditions. Christian Science proves conclusively that the only seeming evil is the fear of evil or belief in it. When the belief in evil is once destroyed, evil conditions cease to exist.
I knew a man who had a great fear of food poisoning. Job said, "The thing which I greatly feared is come upon me," and so it proved to be in this case. After the man had become a student of Christian Science, he suffered a very violent attack, but by this time he had learned that in the kingdom of infinite good there is nothing poisonous or detrimental to man. When he understood this fact he experienced a perfect healing. His freedom from that error was won forever. He did not have to change his diet, but he had to exchange his fears, based on false belief, for faith in good, based upon spiritual understanding. He had to change his belief that evil had power to harm him for the perception of the divine power of good, that can only heal, help, protect, and bless. The very fact that an evil condition never recurs when the fear of it is destroyed is an incontrovertible proof that the understanding of the supremacy of good is the sovereign remedy for all our woes.
When we see that the divine power of good is the only power we become assured that good is a continuous and uninterrupted experience. The human mind, ignorant of divine facts, would have us believe that for every action there is a reaction; that joy must be followed by sorrow; that success is apt to be followed by failure; and that triumph is hard pressed by defeat. Such delusions have no foundation in Truth. In our textbook we have this comforting assurance (p. 74): "In Christian Science there is never a retrograde step, never a return to positions out grown." The divine power is not spasmodic, intermittent, or temporary. It does not act at one time and cease to act at another. Good is omniactive. In the Bible we are promised, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." God and His creation are inseparable. The creative power of good is the sustaining power of good. The divine power that created health is adequate to maintain it. Health is a fact and cannot lapse into sin. Abundance is a fact that cannot lapse into lack.
The creation of God is perfect. Jesus saw creation at the standpoint of perfection. He knew that it was sustained by power divine, infinite good, and that there was no evil power that could cause it to recede from its immaculate purity and unchanging completeness. We read in Ecclesiastes, "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever; nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it." Jesus' entire ministry was to awaken men to see what had been bestowed on them by the Father. He aroused men to see what was already theirs. Of his friend, Lazarus, he said, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep." Life and its divine faculties were present, were never absent. Our Master's understanding of divine power brought them into perfect manifestation. To another sufferer he said, "Stretch forth thine hand," and the man was healed. The ability to act rightly is God-bestowed, and Jesus proved that man cannot be deprived of that divine gift. To the sinner he said, "Neither do I condemn thee." He did not condone sin; neither did he condemn the repentant sinner. He knew that virtue and goodness were native to man and that sin and evil were utterly foreign to man. Sin and evil are never manifested through man, but are only false beliefs about man. Jesus knew that evil and wrong are never associated with the real man, but only with a mortal concept of man. We do not have to change man, but only our mortal beliefs about man.
The Science of divine power shows
us how to eradicate these false views of man and replace them with the good and
true. Let us suppose that we had a most admirable friend whom we had known for
many years. His conduct was uniformly noble, fine, good, and true. His life was
full of loving deeds and exemplary actions. The grace within was made manifest
outwardly in a benign countenance, a gracious manner, and loving demeanor.
Suppose someone sent us a drawing of our friend which represented him to be a
person of stern countenance, haughty mien, and forbidding looks. We would at
once say: "Why, that person does not know my friend. That is not a true or
accurate representation, but a false misrepresentation." We would at once
erase from our thought this distorted picture and immediately recall how our
friend actually appeared.
Man is God's representative. Man has Godlike qualities, and anything that is unlike these qualities is a misrepresentation, a caricature of man. Every right idea proceeds from the illimitable God and has the power of good behind it. There was a lady who had had a serious difference with her brother-in-law, and a deep sense of bitterness and resentment had resulted. The consequent estrangement continued for some time. Both of these persons finally came to have very serious physical difficulties. Finally the lady, who was a student of Christian Science, saw clearly that this wrong condition must not go on any longer. She then filled her heart with love and forgiveness and went to see the one who had wronged her. This action healed the brother-in-law, and when the lady arrived home her difficulty had entirely disappeared.
As we gain the understanding of divine power we see clearly that man is forever at one with that power. Jesus said, "I and my Father are one;" and what a beautiful correlative we have in "No and Yes" by our Leader where we read (p. 12), "God must be found all instead of a part of being, and man the reflection of His power and goodness." The human mind would have us believe that most of the time we are acting through human will and human energy, and that when they fail us we can call upon the divine power in our extremity. Christian Science shows us that the divine qualities are reflected by man at all times and that the man of God's creating is not the medium of evil. The man who is controlled by sin believes that there is an evil power from without that can overpower his desire to do right. The sick man believes that an evil power from without can impose disease and suffering upon him. The man who is struggling with lack believes that adverse conditions over which he has no control can deprive him of his needful supply of good.
All these beliefs are baseless and
false. God is the only creator, and health is a constituent part of His
creation. The infinite good that is reflected through man is an impassable barrier
to disease and suffering. They are impotent and powerless. Goodness is an
emanation of divine power, and there is no evil influence that can deprive man
of his reflection of God's goodness, purity, and virtue. Man is the very
embodiment of good; he is inseparable from it and cannot fail to express its
fullness. If there were any lack of health, goodness, and abundance, God would
not be fully manifested. God's power is infinite and has full expression and
unlimited manifestation. We could not conceive of a part of a stream detaching
itself and ceasing to flow. It is carried onward and forward by the
swift-moving current of which it is a part. The streams which flow from
infinite good come from the divine source, are at one with this power, and they
are forever available to man.
How clear this perception of man's reflection of God makes the doctrine of atonement! Before we gained some understanding of Christian Science, we thought that the doctrine of atonement applied only to the overcoming of sin, but Christian Science declares and proves that it is equally applicable to the overcoming of disease. The purpose of Jesus' ministry extended not only to the sinner but to the sick as well. Christian Science, following in the footsteps of our great Master, shows us clearly that the true atonement enables men to be reconciled to God and then our sins are healed and our diseases destroyed. Jesus was not only a good theologian; he was also a great healer. His medicine and theology were one. He proved that a recognition of man's reconciliation with God was just as efficacious to heal disease and discord as it was to destroy sin. We have ordinarily thought of medicine as medication or the use of material remedies, but this is a very narrow and restricted use of that term. The dictionary defines "medicine" as "the science and art dealing with the prevention, cure, or alleviation of disease." Jesus' medicine was the truth about God. That truth never fails. The greatest prescription ever given was that unfailing promise, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
A lady was suffering from a very serious malady accompanied by violent hemorrhages. One day she picked up the Christian Science textbook and read that beautiful, healing declaration (p. 463), "A spiritual idea has not a single element of error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive." She saw at once that in her true and spiritual selfhood she was at one with good and wholly separate from error. The result was that the disease completely vanished, never to return.
Truth never changes. Divine efficacy never wanes, fluctuates, or varies. Since that efficacy was present and operative in God's universe in Jesus' time, it must be still here. It could not depart from God's creation nor ever cease to be operative. It must be ever-present, since God is everywhere. When we glimpse this eternal verity we see that our true medicine is always with us to prevent, cure, or alleviate disease. In Jeremiah we read, "Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?" And in our textbook (p. 142) we learn that "Truth is God's remedy for error of every kind." The Christian Scientist always has his remedy with him. He never loses it, for he cannot become separate from God and His transcendent power. He knows that God has established beneficent laws, that His plan brings to pass that which is for the welfare of man and never works in any way to restrict his enjoyment of good. All our seeming limitation comes from a failure to utilize the divine power, law, and eternal verities. As we appropriate the divine provision of good our thought becomes more expansive, and we are thus prepared to receive more of good. When Elisha proved God's abundance in providing oil for the widow wherewith to pay her debts, he told her to provide for the reception of that abundance. His words were, "Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few," and every vessel was filled and her need was adequately supplied. Her real need was to discharge her righteous and honest obligations. The divine power is always sufficient to enable us to do what is just, honest, and equitable.
A young student of Christian Science was just starting out in the business world. An opportunity was presented to him to contribute to a very worthy cause. His meager salary was being used most economically and would not permit of what he thought he would like to give. He had been beautifully healed in Christian Science, and so finally he pledged quite a substantial amount. In a very short time, without any human planning, a position came to him at double his former salary and with a greater opportunity for advancement. The Science of divine power shows us how to prepare for the maximum of good, but to make no provision for the reception of evil. We can expect much health from infinite Mind, the source of all health; we can plan on much goodness from boundless good, the origin of all good; we can expect much of beauty and loveliness from infinite Soul, the creator of all that is beautiful, grand, lovely, and true; we can expect much of spirituality from infinite Spirit, who has endowed man with His divine nature so that He is saying to every one of His beloved children, "Thou art my beloved child in whom I am well pleased."
The Science of divine power proves and demonstrates irrefutably that God acts through immutable law. God is the only lawgiver and law-enforcer. He who can enact a real law is also capable of enforcing that law. When our government enacts a law it also takes steps to enforce that law. A law that is properly enacted and declared constitutional immediately supersedes any other law contrary thereto and becomes the supreme law of the land. God's law is operating and governing everywhere, and evil has no territory over which it rules; it has no activity, no jurisdiction, no laws, and cannot control or govern anyone.
As we perceive the supremacy and the irresistible nature of the power that is divine, we use this holy power not only to bring happiness and holiness into our individual lives but we can promote the universal good. We learn in Christian Science that "universal Love is the divine way in Christian Science" (Science and Health, p. 266), and the unceasing endeavor of the true Christian Scientist is so to purify his own thinking that he will do his part in enhancing the general welfare. In the early days of one section of our country the settlements were few and far between. Gradually the country began to attract more settlers and amongst them was a very kindly man. He did not have very much to give in a material way, but his heart was full of love for his fellow men, so he secured a supply of apple seeds and wherever he went he planted some of these seeds. In a few years apple trees would be flourishing whose fruit furnished some of the needs of these hardy pioneers. And so he who gains some understanding of the power of divine Love and boundless good can utilize this beneficent power not only to help himself but to plant in the hearts and lives of men those seeds of Truth, those ideas of God, which heal and bless everyone whom his life touches.
Today the world is crying out for peace, for comfort, for surcease from its struggles and unrest. This peace can come in only one way and that is through an understanding of God and His Christ as revealed in Christian Science. What is it that seems to break the peace of the world but the belief in minds many, the seeming clash of human wills, the seeming strife of selfish interests and mad ambition? In God's kingdom of infinite harmony there is one Father, one universal family of His loving children, one will, "the might and wisdom of God" (Science and Health, p. 597), and there peace reigns supreme. As this great fact permeates our thinking, peace reigns in our own hearts, and we can do our part in bringing to troubled humanity universal peace. To do our part faithfully and well, we must have peace within and then we shall be peace-bringers and not peace-breakers.
How grateful we are to Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, who brought to this age the revelation of the all-power and ever-availability of divine good! Like the beacon light which guides the storm-tossed sailors to the desired haven, Mrs. Eddy revealed to us the light of Truth which shows us clearly and demonstrably the way out of earth's woes to the promised land of health, holiness, purity, joy, and life eternal.
Before this great truth came to our Leader her earthly cup had been full of bitter disappointment, suffering, sorrow, and betrayal. At a time when the night seemed without a star and the verdict of death had been laid upon her, she turned to her Bible for healing. Through the darkness there shone the rays of Truth, revealing the power of God, which healed her and restored her to life and health. She saw that God was just as accessible to men now as He was in the time of Jesus. After repeated proofs of this great fact she gave her discovery to the world. Today countless thousands bear grateful witness to the truth and demonstrability of her teachings. She has provided many ways and means by which this healing ministry can be brought into the hearts and lives of men. Her life was one of holy humility, unmeasured love, unfailing kindness, and unbounded faith in God. What a joy it is to embody those same qualities in our every thought and deed and thus be worthy followers of our great Leader! The path which she followed and which it is our great privilege to walk in is most graciously pointed out in her own words (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 247): "The little that I have accomplished has all been done through love, — self-forgetful, patient, unfaltering tenderness."
[Delivered on an unspecified date at the Oakland Municipal Auditorium Theater in Oakland, California, under the auspices of Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist, Oakland, and published in The Oakland Tribune of Oakland, Dec. 12, 1939. A few breaks have been added to very long paragraphs for this transcript.]