Christian Science is a religion of continuing joy. It recognizes that joy is spiritual and that it derives its strength from eternal Mind, God, rather than from human emotions. Therefore it is not subject to the fortunes or misfortunes of mortal existence.
The Bible counsels us over and over to rejoice, and those who treasure its divine guidance know that obedience to its instructions is not without reward. In Nehemiah we read (8:10), "This day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Expressing joy in the midst of grief is not closing our eyes to what appears to be causing the grief; it is opening them, enlarging our discernment of the ever-present activity of infinite goodness and therefore the unreality of human woes.
Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, knew so well the importance of joy in a spiritual way of life that it became one of the foundation stones of the religion she established. She writes in Science and Health (p. 304), "This is the doctrine of Christian Science: that divine Love cannot be deprived of its manifestation, or object; that joy cannot be turned into sorrow, for sorrow is not the master of joy; that good can never produce evil; that matter can never produce mind nor life result in death."
