"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."II Cor. 9:15; In these words Paul was expressing heartfelt gratitude for that gift of gifts, the Christ, which reveals the truth of God and of man's unity, or oneness, with Him. The apostle was a humble, appreciative follower of Christ Jesus; and like the Master, he gained strength and inspiration from a vivid sense of communion with the one Mind, divine Love.
A demonstrable unity with God is the goal of each earnest student of Christian Science, and experience teaches him that gratitude is an important means toward this end. It is a transitional quality that magnifies the presence of good, ruling out attitudes of unappreciative disinterest, mental drabness, that hides the ever-encircling presence of Love. Mrs. Eddy writes, "What is gratitude but a powerful camera obscura, a thing focusing light where love, memory, and all within the human heart is present to manifest light."The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 164;
What a difference the practice of thanksgiving can make in our day to day experience! Dissatisfaction and boredom fade away as we actively look for evidences of good in the minutiae of events and circumstances. Christian Scientists know that their material environment is not the truth of creation, but hints of divinity can be seen in persons, places, and things if an earnest attempt is made to spot them. Friendship, good humor, excellence of performance, evidences of law and order, beauty of form and color, rhythm of sound and movement—all these express something of the absolute spiritual attributes and qualities inherent in God, creative Mind.
