IN her writings Mrs. Eddy says much about Love, a term which, in accord with the Scriptures, she uses as a synonym for God. With the aid of the two Concordances, a study of the references to Love in all of Mrs. Eddy's works may be undertaken, which will open limitless vistas of beautiful, satisfying ideas.
One can with profit carry with him from his study a single, succinct statement, which he may meditate over and increasingly demonstrate through days and years of correspondingly richer, happier, more Christianly living. One such statement is found on page 312 of "Miscellaneous Writings," where we read, "Love is consistent, uniform, sympathetic, self-sacrificing, unutterably kind; even that which lays all upon the altar, and, speechless and alone, bears all burdens, suffers all inflictions, endures all piercing for the sake of others, and for the kingdom of heaven's sake." Earnest consideration of the five qualities enumerated in the first part of this wonderful sentence will help us to express, in every phase of our daily experience, more of genuine, lasting loveliness.
To begin with, "love is consistent." A dictionary gives many interesting definitions of the word "consistent," among which are these: "firm; solid; having agreement with itself or with something else; harmonious." "Durable," though listed as an obsolete meaning, is applicable to eternal Love and its necessarily permanent manifestation. As our Leader says on page 103 of "Miscellaneous Writings," "Intelligent Spirit, Soul, is substance, far more impregnable and solid than matter." When one commences to realize that Love is firm and solid, one gains an insight into the nature of real substance, a glimpse which enables him to stand unmoved through times of general uncertainty, fear, and change. Then, as the consistency of Love is demonstrated individually, and, as a consequence, in an ever-increasing degree universally, poverty, lack, and the sharply contrasting conditions of oversupply and want must be eliminated.
