One of the most important among the many good effects of Christian Science on its earnest students, is the opening up of the Scriptures,—the enlarged appreciation for the "Book of books," also with an increasing ability to gather the spiritual riches contained therein.
Throughout the Christian era the Bible has been regarded as a well-spring of inspiration and help, directly proportional to the degree of spiritual-mindedness in the reader, while the cumulative good which it has accomplished is probably beyond all computation. It is not, however, until the truth, as revealed in our text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, dawns in the consciousness that one's mentality is opened to perceive the wealth of beauty and inspiration contained in the various incidents related in the Scriptures. Recently, while reading the first seven verses in the fourth chapter of II Kings, which tell the familiar and dearly loved story of the widow's cruse of oil, so many useful lessons which he had never perceived before crowded upon the attention of the writer, that he is moved to share them, if he may, with other seekers for the light.
This account informs us that the widow's creditor, in accordance with the usages of those times, was about to enslave her two sons in satisfaction for an unpaid debt, when, upon her appeal to Elisha for help, she was bidden by the prophet to borrow a great many oil jars from her neighbors. After gathering these together, she was further required to close the house and to pour into all the vessels the oil from the little cruse which, in her poverty, was the only thing remaining to her. Although the cruse was so small and the vessels were so many, the oil did not cease flowing till all were full, when the widow was directed to sell the oil and with the money pay the debt and support herself and her sons with the remainder.
