AT break of day on a bitterly cold morning a student of Christian Science, who derived considerable pleasure from putting out food for the birds, even though sparrows oftentimes seemed to be the only ones that came to the repast, upon opening the door was greeted with the strong, clear notes of a cardinal. Looking up, he saw the bird perched on the topmost limb of a near-by tree. A sharp wind was coming from the north, the ground was heavily covered with snow which had fallen throughout the night, and a coating of ice encrusted every sprig. Here was food for thought! The little songster surely could not have had his breakfast; yet, even with so bleak and unpromising a prospect before him he could actually sing; and his song was clear, strong, joyous, a veritable pæan of praise and gratitude! Food for thought, indeed!
To the Christian Science practitioner come many weary ones buffeted by the winds of adversity and suffering from the cold of human indifference, perhaps complaining of financial lack, and hardly knowing which way to turn to meet their obligations and needs. To all such the foregoing incident may point a helpful lesson—a lesson of trust in the Giver of all good.
The student of Christian Science is a student of divine law. To be able to prove God's power to supply his needs or heal his body, he must have some understanding of this law. Understanding comes as the human consciousness advances out of its beliefs in substance-matter to a realization of Spirit as the only true substance. The fact of Spirit's substantiality and allness is the golden thread that runs all through the sacred pages of the Scriptures. Scholastic theology, intellectualism, "the wisdom of this world," are blind to this teaching, even as they were centuries ago when Jesus emphasized this important point. Centuries before his day Isaiah, whose words the Master recalled, declared, "Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not;" and this lack of ability to understand and perceive Spirit, God, to be the only real substance was deprecated by most of the early prophets.
