"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." These gracious and persuasive words, uttered by the Master centuries ago, continue to bring hope and comfort to burdened hearts today. They arouse a sense of reliance upon impartial and forgiving Love. There is not an instant of cessation in divine Love, which brings rest to all who are willing to turn to this spiritual source for strength and comfort. The mission of Jesus was to teach men the tender compassion of the Father and to establish the inspiration of love for Him in their hearts.
But how often the discouraged one, believing he cannot obtain relief, waits until anxious thought reaches the limit of human endurance! When all material means have failed, then, as a final resort, he humbly turns to God for deliverance. He soon realizes his need of gaining a clearer and higher knowledge of God. The whole purpose of Jesus' teachings was to lift the thoughts of men above materiality to the spiritual unity between man and his Maker.
The question naturally arises, Why do men become discouraged,fearful, and heavyhearted? A satisfying answer to this problem is given by Mary Baker Eddy in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 322): "The sharp experiences of belief in the supposititious life of matter, as well as our disappointments and ceaseless woes, turn us like tired children to the arms of divine Love." Through this voluntary surrender we lose the belief of a selfhood apart from our loving Father, and learn the emptiness of an existence which is supposed to be independent of Him.
