OUT of the spirit of renewed consecration to the cause of Christian Science and the teachings of our Leader, that is today sweeping all over the world in a tidal wave of love and devotion, there has come home to many a loyal Christian Scientist the question of how one can best prove the sincerity of his purpose and endeavor.
We have not far to look for a definite and authentic answer to this question. Jesus was but a lad when the conviction was borne in upon him that he must be about his Father's business, and while the evangelists have given no hint as to the years that intervened between the appearance of the child Jesus in the temple, with the learned doctors gathered about him, and the time when he entered upon the period of his recorded ministry, we can but believe that they were years of preparation for the great work that was to be crowded into the brief span of three years.
And yet, was there ever another three years that meant so much to mankind,—day after day, till the months had stretched into years, of patient, loving ministry to the multitudes of sick and sinning ones who thronged about him, if so they might but "touch the hem of his garment;" and more than once it is recorded that "he healed them all." Moreover, this wondrous work of healing was included in his commission to his disciples, those who were to "teach all nations." Not only were they commanded to "preach the gospel," but, even as he had done, they were to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils;" for the Master declared that those who believed in him should do these mighty works, and that their ability to do this should be a proof of the genuineness of their love.
