FORGIVENESS 'tries the worth of men and women, passes judgment upon their motives and acts, and determines their happiness. As a great need in a needy world, forgiveness stands prepared to aid in annihilating the pains and pangs of mortal kind and in establishing that God-given freedom which is the true heritage of all people. Respecting neither person nor circumstance, it knocks at the door of each troubled heart and, if admitted, brings into experience a relief which words cannot describe, a peace too wonderful for human understanding.
To forgive is to love, and to love is to be Christlike. To be Christlike is to know that material beliefs are unreal, unholy, and that salvation means the adoption and free reign of spiritual understanding; it means looking for good and only good seven times a day, seven days a week, yea, "seventy times seven,"—always. To be Christlike demands a tireless resistance of evil, an unshaken faith in and firm reliance upon God, and a patience which ultimates in perfect work. It demands that individuals begin to demonstrate Christian Science, to establish advancement upon understanding, upon activity, and that they press forward, allowing neither doubt, distrust, nor fear of failure to enter their thoughts and hinder their progress in the great journey from sense to Soul.
"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." What a splendid opportunity there is, if one is equipped to obey this apostolic injunction! What a splendid chance to play a most important part on the stage of daily experience! To be unassuming, merciful, and kind; never to talk about the false manifestations of mortal mind; to erase them as much as possible from memory; to look upon a so-called offending brother with the charity which liberates and reforms,—this is to respond quickly and well to the summons, "Ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness." Thus it is that one begins to do as he would be done by, to live and let live, and to love his neighbor as himself. Thus it is that honesty, sincerity, and uprightness disclose themselves as the watch-towers of character, from which all well-meaning and energetic persons are bidden carefully to consider and examine themselves; bidden to learn the secret of true progress and success, which says, "Physician, heal thyself"—"lest thou also be tempted."
