A small boy who had been asked what he would like as a gift decided on a pocket knife, and for some days, while he was waiting for it, delighted himself with the prospect of having a good strong blade that would cut. But when the knife came, it had on it not only the one blade but four, and in addition a variety of useful contrivances which he had not thought of—an awl, a file, scissors, and the like—capable, it seemed to him, of doing about all that could need to be done with tools. He was speechless for a moment in considering how much better the gift was than anything he had imagined.
His experience was not unlike that of many students of Christian Science in discovering the meaning and value of love. They, like the rest of mankind, had thought of it as being desirable and useful in certain ways; and then they have learned step by step, through increasing understanding and proofs, that it is useful in every way: that there is nothing whatsoever of value that it will not do.
The diligent student of Christian Science soon sees why spiritual love, as it appears in human thought and lives, has this great puissance. It is the manifestation, the direct showing forth, of the nature of God, divine Love; and God, as the Scriptures imply, and as the beloved revelator of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, has plainly stated, is omnipotence, omniscience, infinite and unchanging wisdom, substance, and Life. Therefore, the love which expresses Him is the direct appearing of all this. Mankind are familiar with certain simple procedures, such as radio tuning and the turning of electrical switches, by which they can produce desirable effects. By loving with the love which expresses God, they can bring into their experience good which leaves nothing to be desired. "Love," as the Apostle Paul wrote, "never faileth" (Am. Rev. Ver.).
