COMPARABLE in this respect only with the Bible, whose spiritual treasures it unlocks, the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, abounds in messages of enlightenment and encouragement, comfort and confidence, to the perplexed and distressed everywhere. On the first page, as if by way of guaranty of all that follows, are found four simple words of deep significance to mankind. There, referring to that which "reforms the sinner and heals the sick," two results universally desired, the author has written, "I speak from experience"! How deeply the world has yearned for, and how long it has awaited, one who could so speak—and not merely speak, but prove the truth of the assertion behind the words! Until the discovery of Christian Science by Mrs. Eddy, there had been no such one as she since Jesus of Nazareth.
There can be no doubt that Jesus spoke from experience. Of the messengers John the Baptist sent to him, when he felt that he must unquestionably know the status and mission of the Master, Jesus asked that they return and bear witness to the things which had come into the experience of men by reason of his work among them, saying, "The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." Each of these things was an experience in his daily life, and Jesus knew that they satisfied the desire of the heart as nothing else could.
Jesus taught and expounded his doctrine, to be sure. His utterances were profound and benign, and they have endured to this day to comfort a countless host, even as they will endure throughout all time; but it was when the great Teacher translated his words into deeds that we read "the people thronged him." Those deeds, again, were the satisfying experiences. He constantly stressed the need for such of them as evidenced spiritual transformation and healing. How significant, then, that there should be a book of the Bible following the record of his wondrous earthly career entitled "The Acts of the Apostles"! Let us always be grateful that the "signs following" were the acts, the works, and the experiences, of those early Christians. It is sadly true, however, that in the succeeding centuries men fell into much disbelief of the possibility of knowing and proving the things of God, and hence, generally speaking, ignorance has come about concerning them.
