Man exists as idea in Mind. Just as all the rays are needed to reflect the sun, so all the ideas of Mind are necessary for Mind's full expression. No idea can fill another idea's place. This is just as true as the fact that the number six can never do the work of the number seven, nor the number seven the work of the number six. There is a law of God which holds every idea in its right relationship to every other idea. No idea of God can ever be out of place.
No one who has served in the armed forces should feel that this service to Principle and to mankind has deprived him of something, and that this deprivation will make him less useful. If one is motivated by the desire to serve Principle and bless mankind, and if one expresses loyalty, honesty, truthfulness, kindness, intelligence, unselfed love, one may be confident that these qualities are valuable, and that they are needed in the world.
He should not for an instant believe himself unappreciated. Gaining the appreciation of men was not his motive in joining up. It was service to a righteous cause. If now he changes his purpose and seeks human approbation, this thinking, not the thinking of his fellow man, will block his demonstration. This is no time to lower one's standard. It should be kept at the high level of service to God and man. All that has been given of loyalty, of unselfed love, of sacrifice and devotion, is known to God. We have the promise in Revelation (3:8), "I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it."
