FAITH in God seems to be sadly lacking in the ordinary round of everyday life. The world's calls seem peremptory; and he who listens to the demands of worldly pleasure and power cannot give his whole-hearted allegiance to God as All-in-all. The spiritual does not appear to be tangible or substantial enough for the man of the world. He wishes to grasp material possessions in his hands and gain glory and honor from their use. Yet. the time must come when these will prove hollow and undependable, and their joys but fleeting; and then where is the worldly-minded to find his comfort?
In the first epistle of John it is written: "If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God." A great enlightenment is thrown on these words by our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, when she defines "heart," on page 587 of the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," as "mortal feelings, motives, affections, joys, and sorrows." Thought can be freed from the condemnation of mortal beliefs, which fail and falter, by the certainty of the eternal verities in the life which is "hid with Christ in God." One whose reliance on the gods of this world has been shaken by failure and disappointment, has probably become so accustomed to accepting the limitations and penalties of mortal existence that he does not realize it is a false concept of life which causes him to be the victim of grief and disaster in their varied forms. The writer of the epistle above referred to was the beloved disciple who had lain on Jesus' breast, and had seen the demonstration of life eternal in the resurrection and ascension of his dear Master. Love which blesses its enemies, Life which knows no death, Truth which makes free, had kept Christ Jesus untouched by the relentless malice of his enemies. He rested in the calm assurance that God knows only the pure and true; and it was his understanding of God which set him far above the evils of the carnal mind, and gave him a fearless faith in the power of good in the midst of the seeming dangers and perils of his human experience.
To follow in the footsteps of our blessed Master is the only way of salvation for him who is suffering from the condemnation of the finite and mortal. Giving up false trusts and turning to God, who knows all things, engenders that confidence in the control of divine Love which gives spiritual dominion and freedom from fear of the despotism of an evil power opposed to good, which claims to hold mankind in bondage. This confidence is not the self-righteousness which asserts itself in its own strength, for true confidence is born of faith in God.
