Do you love the Christ enough to put in words the inspiration that has come to you through the Christ-power, to share that inspiration by writing for the Christian Science periodicals?" That has always been an easy question for me to answer—an unqualified "Yes!" "But do you love the Christ enough to keep writing even when your manuscripts have been turned down?" For many years that was a much harder question to answer, because pride of authorship and hurt feelings kept getting in the way.
However, I kept submitting articles on a regular basis for thirty years. And for thirty years I kept receiving letters turning down my contributions. The letters included warm, helpful, thoughtful comments about what I had written, but they were nontheless saying "Thank you, but no." When I finally saw clearly that my desire to give in this way was God-impelled and that I was writing for the glory of God—not for the glory of "me"—my first article was accepted; and I was truly able to give God the praise.
If our desire to share is sincere and we actively listen for God's voice, we readily catch the morning beam of Christly inspiration. And consciousness, washed clean by humility, is ready for the impress of Christ, Truth. Whether or not an inspiring idea eventually finds its way into a fully developed article, I feel it is helpful for my own growth to spend a little time every day putting down on paper the ideas coming to thought. And I enjoy studying them for further enlightenment because they have their origin in divine Mind. In the Bible we read about Jacob's unwillingness to let go of the angel message with which he wrestled until his nature was transformed. See Gen. 32: 24–30. I consider his experience an example well worth following as I probe each spiritual concept for the fullness of its meaning and application.
