It has been said that there is no sense of loneliness greater than the loneliness of a great city. Without the understanding of the one Mind, as taught in Christian Science, even one's normal faculty of safe and sane thinking would there seem sometimes to be taken from him, and a sense of fear, confusion, and friendlessness substituted as a result of the hurry, noise, and self-centered interest of commercial activities. But however isolated one may feel in the midst of onrushing humanity, this false sense of loneliness is only a different phase of the same belief of loneliness that may be experienced in the small town or in the country. It is the result of wrong thinking, and is not dependent upon geographical location nor necessarily upon the absence of human companionship.
With the dawning of Truth in consciousness, this seeming aloneness begins to disappear; one finds friendliness in faces, in voices, in trees, and in birds. One now looks for expressions of divine activity, for service and cheer everywhere; and one assuredly finds that for which he is looking, and hears that for which he is listening. The artist is apt to detect the glint of sunshine which illumines a bit of beauty perhaps in a gloomy corner of the courtyard; and the naturalist to hear the chirp of a cricket amidst the roar of city traffic. As Christian Scientists, we are seeing more of man and the universe as God's reflection, wherever we may be, and rejoicing in the happiness and freedom which result from this recognition.
When Abraham was called to go out into a "strange country," the Scriptures tell us that "he went out, not knowing whither he went." Later, we are assured that he was not alone as he seemed to be; for, being the "Friend of God," he was conscious of ever present Love. In learning to be a friend of God, we find satisfying friendship in every position or condition in which we may be placed. This friendship does not depend upon what some one else does or says. It is a divine relationship finding expression; and one cannot be deprived of its comfort and inspiration, if he realizes that the law of Love is ever operative, and that it is his privilege and duty to be ever conscious of his unity with divine Love.
Every Christian Scientist is called upon, as was Abraham, to go out into a "strange country;" for spiritual consciousness seems, indeed, an unknown country to the unenlightened thought. Our first step is to face the light and to turn away from sensetestimony; then, step by step, to journey toward our goal. Each must take this mental journey alone, so far as human companionship is concerned. However sincere may be the desire to help another on the journey, each must take his own footsteps; and there will come the time when he will ponder Mrs. Eddy's words in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 266): "Would existence without personal friends be to you a blank? Then the time will come when you will be solitary, left without sympathy;" but the promise follows that "this seeming vacuum is already filled with divine Love." This is an opportunity for proving our friendship with God.
Not only was Abraham a friend of God, but God was also the Friend of Abraham. If we study the definition of Abraham in the Glossary of Science and Health, we may gain some proper understanding of the qualities of thought requisite to become a "friend of God;" and as this unfolds to us we shall never again believe that we are friendless or alone. The argument which error brings to one of not being understood, of not being needed, or of friendlessness, is very subtle; but it is powerless and ineffective through our friendship with God. We must awaken to the realization that one can find his happiness and immortality—in fact, can find his real selfhood—only through the desire to give, not merely to receive; for man is the reflection of God. God is the infinite Giver of all good, and man expresses this Godlike quality.
Do we feel the need of tenderness, kindness, or loving interest? Then, let us express these qualities to others. Do we feel that we lack the opportunity to do so? We can always find opportunities for doing so mentally by kindly, constructive thinking, if not in outward service; and soon the way will open for further expression. The words, "friend of the friendless," as used by our Leader in her Communion Hymn (Poems, p. 75), express the loving compassion in her Christlike thought, and her recognition of humanity's earnest longing. Let us wrest a blessing from every experience, however trying it may appear to be, saying as did Jacob, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me."
The human sense of friendship, based solely on personality, presents grave dangers and perilous joys. It places reliance upon the temporal and material, instead of upon the eternal and spiritual. Both our joys and our friendships must be spiritualized; and this end can be attained only through the understanding of friendship with God. Then, as this understanding unfolds, we can say with conviction:—
Not alone was I called to go
Far from the ties which earth deems
dear;
I'm journeying onward with a Friend.
Whose presence all the way doth cheer.
I could not be content to stay.
Where earth-ties kept me closely
bound;
For thought was reaching out to find
That man was never of the ground;
That all earth's honors are but dross;
That all earth's pleasures are but
dreams.
In humbly taking up my cross,
A light athwart my pathway gleams.
Love, 'stablish Thou my trust in good;
My faith to understanding bind.
Fidelity my watchword is—
'Tis thus I find my life in Thine.
Secure, I gladly onward go;
Should joy attend or grief impend,
I'll never swerve; for well I know
I'm not alone,—God is my Friend!
