An attempt to explain the import of these teachings which we read in the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of St. Matthew might remind one of that useless effort which we have many times heard referred to, namely, the gilding of pure gold. This sermon of our Saviour's is so simple and straightforward that we cannot misunderstand his meaning if we are seeking Divine understanding, and the more we read it the more we appreciate its purity and strength until we find ourselves reflecting the true light. Therefore one who has found a practical religion, of which this wonderful sermon is the essence, may be satisfied with speaking in a general way of his religion and thus lend his small effort toward advertising the peerless sermon, at the same time declaring the statement on page 167 of the Christian Science text-book: "The Sermon on the Mount is the essence of this Science, and the eternal life, not the death of Jesus, was its outcome."
A student of Christian Science, in endeavoring to draw the line between Truth and error and point to God's way of teaching and saving men, reasoned thus: "I have learned that there is a cross laid upon the student of Christian Science; the task of denying and living above every claim of evil, and it seems to me that the adherents of the old-school churches have not this cross to bear, for they do not strike at the elements of error with such effect as to correct it. In destroying error one may feel its sting; even as the sinless Lord did, in going about his demonstration that there is no death."
If one is not striving to live up to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, so full of love and self-sacrifice, and if he is not overcoming sickness as well as sin, is he true to Christianity? The cross and bitter cup that we have to deal with from time to time, indicate to the patient ones that as adherents of Truth they stand approved of God whose changeless goodness is becoming theirs. And they understand that in Him there is no night, no sorrow, pain, nor sin. The cross we bear seems a loving presence. We know that God regards not the cross, and that His strong arm is near by. Though perhaps lame and humble in the flesh, the disciple of Christ is clothed upon with a loving tenderness and strength that knows no exhaustion. As he gains the demonstrable understanding of Jesus' teachings, the cross grows less.
