Articles

" Throughout the history of civilization mankind generally has had the firmly established conviction that circumstances, either good or bad, are something over which men have no control; that the condition in which one seems to be involved must be endured, regardless of the consequences to himself. Furthermore, many times such circumstances have been declared to be the inevitable will of God.

In the familiar story of David and Goliath the words, "David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine," show with what unhesitating assurance David undertook the deliverance of the armies of Israel. Was it not assurance gained from previous demonstration, when as a shepherd he found strength to defend his flock from attack? In his own words: "The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.

With a mental vision so discerning and a love so universal that he fully comprehended every urgent human need, Christ Jesus by deed and word sought to still the oft-recurring fear of insufficient food. How profoundly we need the Master's certainty of omnipresent abundance just now! His understanding that God is the source of all real substance must be ours also.

A knowledge of God as omnipresent and omniactive good is the essence of true manhood. The good which is Godlike is expressed by spiritual man in an uninterrupted life of spiritual goodness.

A United States soldier confined to a hospital bed asked, in his extreme need, to see a Christian Scientist. When the Christian Scientist reached his bedside, the soldier was heard to murmur, "Too late, too late!" Immediately the response came in clear, confident words, "Just in time, just in time!" This positive declaration, expressing the speaker's complete confidence in the healing potency of Truth and in its ever-present availability for everyone, promptly silenced the false suggestion of limited opportunity.

The last few verses of the fifth chapter of his letter to the Romans make evident the fact that the Apostle Paul was convinced beyond any shadow of doubt that no phase of evil, irrespective of its appearance, its forebodings, or its insistence, could divorce his thought from the assurance of the allness, the unchangeableness, and the ever-availability of God, good. In a tone that would imply a challenge to anything that would attempt to undermine and shatter this confidence, he writes, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" And then he enumerates a few of the suggestions of the carnal mind that would attempt to do this very thing, saying, "Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" With a deep assurance of victory gained through mastery of these and other phases of mortal thinking, he displays a confidence which should inspire true Christians throughout all time.

Loneliness is an unhappy belief of mortal mind. Solitude, on the other hand, can be a glorious experience.

Is there a way out of the difficulties of these times—a plan upon which all men may agree, one which will achieve lasting peace and brotherhood among nations and peoples? One of the most encouraging signs of our day is the growing number of plans advanced by thoughtful, earnest men and women of many nations who, whether or not correct in their ultimate judgment, are actuated by the noblest motives and a sincere desire to bless and serve mankind. But we may well ask ourselves, Must the world again pass through a postwar conflict of plans and counterplans, however well intended, and perhaps risk thereby the final imposition of an unsatisfactory compromise or makeshift peace, which would only plant the seeds of dissension in universal thought and postpone the day when men of all races and nationalities will work together for the common good? Certainly human history amply justifies that question, for when we look back upon the centuries we see that mankind has fought for its demands and gained ground only by the hard way, because of the tenacious claims of nationalism, domination, suspicion, greed, prejudice, revenge.

It is natural that we should think, of Elisabeth and Anna the prophetess together, for they shared that deep spiritual insight which enabled them unquestioningly to accept the coming of Jesus. The one joyously foretold his birth; the other readily accepted him while he was yet an infant as the eagerly awaited Messiah.

Every thoughtful young person at some time feels the need of finding an answer to such questions as: What is God? What am I? Why am I here? And it is important that these questions be answered correctly. If one has had the privilege of attending a Christian Science Sunday School, he has been taught to look to the Christian Science textbooks, the Bible and "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, for the right answers to these questions and to many others.