There was a large attendance at the April meeting of the Association. Our Teacher was present, and spoke at some length on two points, of which her students have need to be watchful. She said error will urge two extremes; the first, to act too far in advance of our understanding, and to strike a blow too soon, and bring on a crisis that we are not fully prepared to meet and master.
We must not mistake self-sufficiency, pride in the letter of Christian Science, and our finite conception of the fitness of things for spiritual intuitions. The other extreme is apathy, inactivity, whereby many who are really good, and might do much for the cause, do little or nothing through a seemingly paralyzed condition of mind, from a false sense of fear. Such individuals must use what they already have, to obtain more. To destroy sin and heal the sick, we must take the sword; sin cannot be healed without. It is the "sword of the Spirit" we must use, and the sword of the Spirit is Truth and Love; the word of Truth will cut away the belief of pleasure in sin from the human affections, then Love will heal the wounds from both sickness and sin. If, while we are using this sword to the best of our ability, error arouses itself to stop our progress, and we are temporarily in doubt as to what is just the right thing to do, we can stand still and wait on God; and in this waiting, remember what He has done for us in the past, and trust Him to do for us now. We shall thus surely see His salvation, and by these experiences we shall lose the sense of fear; then we gain the spirit of meekness, and in the might of this meekness we go forward and possess (inherit) the earth.
She also showed it to be the positive duty of Christian Scientists to uncover error (as they should a nest of vipers), that the people may see it and be warned of their danger, while they themselves are striving with Divine Science to take away its sting, and destroy its poison.
