CHRISTIAN SCIENCE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12285, 6 April 1918, Page 4

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE.

hcTHE WAY to happiness, ftND HEREAFTER, ,p 1 * ~

A Uoture on Christian science, entitthe Way to Happiness, Here and S'? S'^eufter, M was delivered at tho iftpKihg’s Theatre, Gloucester Street, on I |V,THursdfiy,' April 4. by Air W. R, Rath’vos. C.5.8., member of the Board of of tho Mother Church, the Church qf Christ, Scientist,' Bosp .toft, Mass., U.S.A. there was a largo attendance, some 800 people being present,- and the lecV inter, was introduced by Air Cuthbert iU -Booth. fj- * business man who could have for -ooft "hose capital was un- - whoso resources were mexwhoso judgment was inlalA'viir 6 a . w hpso knowledge all inclusive; 'K’.ili 86 proficiency was adequate either a sick body or a 81C £ business; one who so thoroughly men and affairs that he was i l 0 r *fSht place at the right doing the right thing in the right ,° succeeded in every unrlertnki.t^ n i| , 'Ahd who never failed; vho made oldl 6nem ies, inspired confi- .* wrought the best out of men that m,thorn,, and with it all was so ■in te ftn( l gentle and genial and uni ond lot able that his very pros-' brought joy with it-the business! could get such an in-' radhal-for . his partner might well be■w'*'!6 that his business troubles wcie °T er 'for good and nil. j’oa or anyone else ever know being who had all these quahs -Perfection? No, for such a one M|j v Mtld havO to'possess all power; that Would have to he omnipotent. He ilk,'.would'; have fq be everywhere present at at is, he would have to ho K : He would have to possess e,:about everything, past, future; that is, he would mvniscient; And the’ only ing the qualities of omnitpresence, and omniscience lito.f good,: the cause and 1 that eternally exists, possible and not so very KOtt and any man in busiof it to bring into your so much of what proceeds d partakes of His nature, “have.a silent partner ever pse'influence will not onlv rr business but transform ife for the better. This is Ithat lias entered the lives Of your fellow men who to Christian Science to get •orrjjl'liajmful habit, fear, it, sickness, pain, sorrow, despair; ~ M'jWhen |a man discovers that the worries, misfortunes, hardships sl. ill-health he has suffered are due iMtO.his'ignorance about some essential , IJ ‘ S usua % quite ready to get liSk'iilfg * dea about that essential pstping;- .Then' when he has applied it s 6,es-his troubles going, he is inMdefid ;a rhappy. mam . v uuyhne were to ask me what one an ( BiV-iOwn 'early experience in stood out by itself, ms' brought Vith it benefits in the way ppiness and mental 1 well-being, I would ght idea about God . ience brought to me, ut God’s nature. His lation to Him. Havis man nearly all my' little mboilb anv god cess, and I could not mowleclge of Deity ing to do with his i; or his disposition, soon; disclosed to mo liefamhout God have i‘’.troubles, ■ and that sappear as -we gain ling of God and apPPW it'in: our-daily, thinking' and living te,i'|qjjle qf -you may say, “ I hare got.very well so far without about God. I use comknow that excess of is injurious, so I am tem|Mt .™’ that worr y is harmful, ’d? *? ot worry; I know that fear i!E nfcS - so I have stopped .afraid. I have a sound I and, a sound mind. AVhen these : Wlo*Vl^i e ,/ i!a’ be time enough M©wA° U . fc n8 ,, 0n God> Until But, friends |®' ar e too wise to apply this waithm C'Pbhcy.to your general affairs. You do fg'Mt wait until your car is stalled before fill the tank. You do not wait mi-your-house has burned down before insure. You do, not Wait until your SK'MgWfk are -frozen before you pub on &y<jp gloves. Should jou not then uso s:m\snme good judgment with things aSf U things temtfeif’b 0r ‘ greatest business in the unione ,in winch we are all en-' .caged, is the business of living—the one iv' IbnsineSij 1 bnsineSij that is never 'closed out, for UU',l|fe ; - is without end, eternal, everlast->i?-'ing. The .change called death brings a* change-of environment, but ever-present and urgent problems of fight living are not changed, and n hot Mdsolveifhere must; be solved by us hereJ? rafter.",ln the commercial world a man have.;-to move his business from f M’ .York to San Francisco, but tho fundamentals Osgood business are not ■banged' by. his movingc They are the thepno place as in the other, '-’and iat he has learned of them in the iSi'ecessary and useful to him in '“.‘The Wq, And so with a'fight khow{God. What you may learn at here 1 on earth not only yr a present'reward but adds t'Uw youtequipment hereafter. Why. solid j'ou wait? _ 'Christian Science is not a |.fr|ljgion(3f ‘ waiting but of immediate; '||hCtion Id prompt results; because it is ff^tKe, relion of the present as_ well as ; because it .puts joy into ‘.’'-'life ap' helps us to overcome death, ' ] and bffluso in all its ministrations it ; fjyUfehes'side the transitory forces of the ' Kurha/fivill and the human mind and g/asp/instead ' the ever-availahle and >: nftlidtecl powers of the divine Alind, 'G<»d‘ limself. for these reasons its uni- . vqrsalvppeal is being gladly heard bv u dyery lass and type of humankind. Natural it may be asked, How is the j- ihvestlgtqr to acquire a practical ' of this Science for which so ,'Spiuch is !laimed /J TH'ESLENTBOGK AND ITS AUTHOR. 5;; . lEvery science should be ngntly learn■ed from i*a textbook, and' Christian Science is no exception to this rule. Bible there is but one text?/.:;:b'oolW'f Christian Science, the boob i.-L'tScience and Health with Key to the ‘ Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy, the 'c book - that has won its way into the 't-hgarts and lives of unnumbered men and women and children, who have fi ; fhund in it a quiet friend whose silent is a mighty power for good, ak-flt'is an unfailing guide to the man of actioq who would avoid mistakes r'and traps and fruitless undertakings. Ib is-a■■'■well-filled medicine ch'&t, which . Cdntains neither bottles nor powders, '-pills nor plasters, yet whose remedies have 'healed after all else has failed. It is a constant companion for the wise; jU,counsellor for the simple, never silent appealed to, yet never sneaking till spoken to; never thinking for you, but ever starting you to think. It is s,'?Hhe'book' that is often set aside with | ■ ' Impatience only to be taken up in v- humility ; the book that has dispelled ; the blackness of despair with the brightness of hope; that has rebuilt character, V‘ restored reputations, and reunited the separated, the book that with the Bible ’' "has become the spiritual mentor and monitor for multitudes of earnest men ’ ‘ and .women in every part of the Christianised world. ’ It is 1 perhaps unnecessary to inform - . this audience that the Discoverer and . Founder of Christian SciencA and the author of its textbook was Avomnn—a gentle woman, Alary BaWt Eddy.

\ou may know too that for years she stood alone,—one lone woman against the whold world, —opposed and assailed by the world of theology, of medicine, of established usage, of tradition, oi conservatism; opposed by the world of intellect and of ignorance, of common sense and uncommon sense, of bigotry and cruelty, of ridicule and falsity; and ever pursued by the human and inhuman hatred of truth. All those torces were for years arrayed against this one woman and the message Gori had placed in her hands to deliver to humanity. But she was never daunted or dismayed by anything the world, the Uesh, or evil might try to do to her, for she never let go of the hand of God, Never in modern times has a spirit-ually-minded woman been so relentlessly abused without cause, and her message so maligned and misrepresented from pulpit, press, and platform. Yet. i n p . 10 .vonrs of persecution which Mrs itdcly suffered, not one word of retaliation or resentment dropped from her tongue or pen. Sh e never returned evil lor evil. And 1 assert this not ns a mutter of hearsay or opinion, hut from personal knowledge gained from several years of daily association with airs Eddy, while I was a member of Her own household. Those who do not understand sometimes declare that Christian Scientists unduly exalt and even deify Airs Eddy's memory. It is a mistake, my friends; we do not But there are multitudes of people who aro profoundly grateful to her, and do you wonder why? Let me toll you. Suppose that at one time in your life at the close of a d ism nil winter’s day you were going along a crowded street in a strange, city, a stranger in a foreign land, and* without your knowing it, you dropped yom -pocket-book containing every dollar you had in the world. On the. other side of the street a sweet-faced elderly woman saw you drop your purse, and without a thought for her comfort or safey, she crossed amid the mud and slush and rushing traffic end picked up your purse and followed you. Then, just as you had discovered your loss and were shaken with dread and apprehension for the future, she handed it to yon with a smile that changed your gloom to joy. Would yon not be grateful to that woman? But suppose that instead of merely money that you ha?, lost, instead of merely losing your last dollar in a strange laud, suppose that in course of your life you had lost those things which money cannot buy. Suppose yon had lost .your health, your happiness, your , peace of mind, your self-respect, your usefulness, your ability your friends your faith in your fellow-man; aye, suppose that you had even lost your faith in God and thisisamo gentle, woman had been the means of restoring them all to you would you■ not bograteful to her and thankful to God Who sent her to you? Need it be wondered then that there are multitudes of people who are today profoundly grateful to her who has been the moans of restoring to them the things that make life worth the living? And as one among that multitude I am glad here and always to declare my gratitude for what Christian Science nas brought into my life through the right _ understanding of God which it impait.v When the man 'who is hea ed in Christian Science recognises that he has restored to him the blessings of health and happiness, usefulness and ability, those valued things that were so sorely threatened, he is almost overwhelmed by a surge of emotions. Amazement, curiosity, and a desire-to understand aro uppermost. “What has done this wonderful thing, and how can I get hold of it?” are the insistent questions he propounds; “I want this marvellous power to help others; I know so many people that need it, and I want to talk it to them by the hour,” he earnestly declares. , This zeal is natural and commendable, but unless it is tempered with wisdom it may be harmful rather than helpful, for Christian Science is not a religion of words but of works. To talk Christian Science enthusiastically and indiscriminately without haying lived it persistently, is to invite opposition where we had hoped for acceptance. It often produces prejudice instead _of support, incredulity instead of belief, Afore good can he done by ten minutes of right thinking than by hours of talking to those who do not care to hear. One who by virtue of his wide learning and keen intellect was qualified to speak upon the subject, once said, referring to the natural sciences, art and literature, “In science you must not talk until you know; in art, you must not talk until you do; in literature, you must not talk until you think.” In Christian Science, it may well he said that we are wise if we do not talk until we know, and do. and think;' know the Principle of Christian Science, do what it teaches, and think what we are about to say. to whom, and how, and when, and where. If we follow this simple rule we shall not talk too little; if we ignore it we may well talk too much. THE RIGHT IDEA ABOUT GOD. May I ask you, then, during the time we are together to-day, to consider 'with an open mind some of the teachings of Christian Science about God, that you may try them out in your own experience for the overcoming of.those things which make up the sum of human misery. We will ask you while here not to think of God ns one who is afar off, and who has nothing more in common with you than you have with the worm that crosses your path of a summer’s morning. We will ask you not to think of Him as a God who resembles a glorified man; as a God who afflicts, as a God of wrath and vengeance n.ml fire and flood and tempest. We will, instead, ask you' to consider God as Christian Science shows Him to be, not afar off, but at hand always and everywhere; not indifferent to you and your welfare, but sympathetically interested, as you are interested in.your own children; the God whose power is infinite throughout the universe, yet who never uses it to force you to do anything; whose infinite goodness is ever available by yon, whose infinite intelligence, like an open book, is always ready for you to use. I will ask you to think of Him as the one “ who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all they diseases,” yet who never forces forgiveness, upon you or compels you -to turn to Him to be healed, if in your ignorance or waywardness you would rather rely upon manmade cures or methods. All people who would be regarded as Christian believe in God, yet how few understand Him. The textbook of Christian Science (p. 2031 declares truly that “if God were understood instead of being merely believed, this understanding would establish health.” Does this seem like an extravagant statement? Compare it then with the words of Jesus on the same subject where in John xvii. 3 we are told that to know God ’! is life eternal.” Can you conceive of a vital fact put in stronger words?

AVhen the despondent invalid recognises that God never made a man sick or a sick man; that on the contrary He has given to man unbroken health; that sickness is an imposition of mortal mind and is illegitimate, abnormal, unrighteous, without divine law, recognition, or sanction, he is then readv to turn to divine Alind, God Himself, “ who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who .healeth all thy diseases.”

Jesus by precept and example was continually lifting men’s thoughts above their inherited and impedimentiye beliefs about God as a manlike, being with form and body, subject to wrath, favouritism, chnngeableness. and other human characteristics. Instead, he revealed God to he infinite good, the same yesterday, to-day, and " forever, and in no way resembling, errine, finite man. Jesus the Christ, by virtue of hidivine sonship, taught' that God i 5 no t only loving, hut that He is Love; that He is not only spiritual, hut that He ia Spirit, in whom “ wc live, and move, and have our being.” Can vou conceive of infinite Spirit, or infinite [love

having a form or body, or being subject to the personal limitations of time and place and circumstance ? Christian Science, over following the teachings of Jesus, shows that God is Love; that God is Spirit; that He is Mind; that He is Truth: that Ho is Life; that God is the infinite Principle of being, operating through unchanging laws, laws that aro always comprelvnsible and always beneficent ; that He is omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence. Do tluse definitions of -God quickly appeal to the individual who has always thought of God ns a finite personage, a magnified man? Perhaps not. But lot us propose as an aid toward a fuller comprehension, that ho chose from among these definitions the one which most nearly approaches his highest conception of good, and let his thought dwell upon that. A man's highest ideas of God can ho no higher than his highest coneeptions of , good, but they should always he that high, for God'is infinite, unchanging good. It might appear presumptions in me I’jfre to attempt an adequate exposition of the full teachings of Christian Science about God as scriptiirally defined, I would, instead, refer you to our textbook, whore you will find them all fully set fortli and lucidly expounded- But I fee! that I may with propriety briefly refer to that concept of God which scuniversally meets man's direst need in his darkest hours of trial and tribulation, tlie concept of God as infinite Love, which the Scriptures impart and which Christian Science emphasises. If the thought of God ns Love, ever blessing, never condemning; ever healing, never afflicting; ever protecting, and never neglecting; including all mankind in His fatherly care and infinite affection, if this thought of God comes to you with tender appeal, hold fast to it and cherish it. It will unfold and enlarge and develop, and gradually lead you to a yet broader, fuller knowledge of Him as Love divine. And can yon conceive of anything that is so sorely needed to-day in our churches and out of them, than more of that same Love? Anything that will so quickly check ,f man’s inhumanity to man.” that to-day is making “countless thousands mourn”? GOD AS PRINCIPLE.

It has been aptly said that life is like an arithmetic, made up 'Ot problems which a very few find easy to solve, and which the others never learn to work out- Now we all know that the student’s failures to solve the problems of arithmetic are due to his incomplete or defective knowledge and application of the principles ol mathematics. But •‘did you ever consider that so many of us fail to solve the problems of everyday life because of our incomplete or defective knowledge of the infinite Principle of existence. God? Christian Science is giving to man an understanding of God as the infinite Principle of all that really exists, the Principle which, in the words of our text-book, is “underlying, overlying, and encompassing all true being” (Science and Health, p. 4961; the Principle which operates through unchanging laws, laws which are always beneficent and always comprehensible and demonstrable.

“How is it, then,” yon may ask, “ if God is the underlying Principle of all that really exists and this Principle bestows on man only that which is good, how is it that ,we see so much of sickness and sorrow and sin in the world? The two conditions do not seem to fit. ’What is wrong?” The reason is simple enough. Alen have not applied this Principle in their endeavours to work out life’s problems. They have not learned enough about it or cared enough for it or believed enough in it to make it the basis of their daily thinking and daily living. A right understanding of the principles qf mathematics, as youj know, never fails to bring tho right answer if rightly applied. So it is with the infinite Principle of being, God Himself. Just in the proportion that we bring a right understanding of God into the problems that involve our health, our happiness, our material prosperity, and our spiritual welfare, just hi tlyat proportion will they be rightly solved. ;; Many of us have been taught in our earlier days that it is not essential to understand God, if we will but believe in Him. Now think of trying to solve an intricate problem in mathematics by merely believing in its principles, without understanding them. And are not the problems of life vastly more important and momentous than anything that mathematics can present? Problems which when wrongly worked leave us heavy laden with sickness, fear, want, misery and sin? Christian Science, following the teachings of Jesus the Christ, shows us that a right understanding of God is as essential to every student in the school of life ns an understanding of numbers is to the student of mathematics. ' FAITH.

As with belief, so it is with faith. Faith is as essential to man in the working out of his salvation as tho dial is to the clock. But the dial of tho clock is but a mockery without the works which move its hands. Faith raises our hopes, but unless aided by understanding, like the still hands of the empty clock it neither guides nor enlightens us. ( Does not the Bible tell us that “ faith without works is dead”? But do not infer from this that Christian Science depreciates or belittles the value of faith. Far from it, but it is an essence that to be ol highest use must bo combined with understanding. Perhaps it may help my meaning if you will think of faith ns the dry cement out of which so many of our beautiful and enduring structures are now being fashioned. Cement itself is but a dry powder, which like the dust of the road may be blown to the four quarters of tho earth by a summer’s brcef°. hut when mixed with water may he moulded into a thousand useful and symmetrical forms; or solid as a granite rock, may form tho enduring foundation of many a- noble structure. • So with faith, —unenlightened it may be scattered and blown away by the winds of ignorance and adversity, hut when united with the understanding of God which flows from Christian Science, it becomes transformed and finds expression in the highest types of spiritual construction. OAINIPOTENCE.

Every right concept of God as infinite good must include His omnipotence, His omnipresence, His omniscience. Finite man cannot comprehend these divine qualities in their fullness, but it is a noteworthy fact, that in the proportion that you do realise them, in that proportion do you find good coming into your life and evil leaving it. You do not need to know all of God that, is to be known, before you get any of the good that comes from using even a little of such knowledge. For example, in tho proportion yon realise that God is omnipotent, or in other words that good is all powerful on earth as in heaven ; that the only real power which exists or has ever existed, is the power of good—in that proportion are you freed from your beliefs in the power of evil and your fear iof it. You begin to see evil as not ti? be feared but to bo shunned; not to be tolerated but to be destroyed.

As you thus learn to know God aright yon will discover that any evil' thing which may come upon you lias not the power to barm yon that you once believed it had. You will no longer dread what men may say or do to you. You will no longer fear tilings present or things to come. You will learn to succeed in spits of failure, to be strong in spite of weakness, to bo steadfast in spite of the storm. Sickness, sin. want, failure, and tbs like lose their hold upon you, and even if they should come upon you, they cannot disable, disturb, oi' depress yon, or master you. or deprive you nf your God-given rights, nor can they separate you from the love of G-d, omnipotent good. H' this, should seem like an extreme rCfo,-!ucn* to ,mv of you who not tnon *o prove its truth through Christian IdCi, nco. I°t mo rcirhul you that no Frc nrdn-,. folh"ve|- of Jesus the Chr-t then iV.ul o, Farsii;, has declared its

truth oven moro swcepingly and forcefully. Open your Bibles; if you will, and turn to the eighth chapter of Romans, and what do you find there? “For 1 am persuaded, that neither death, nor lilo, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to conic, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall he able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." OMNIPRESENCE AND OMNISCIENCE. As you realise the omnipresence of God, the all-presence and over-presence of good, you find it possible to prove that God is at hand wherever you may he and under whalevu- circumstances you may he placed. Though you may he hedged in by sickness or sorror or want; though you may ho surrounded by repulsive infamy or enticing sin, God is there to protect you. to support you, to sillier, heal and deliver you. Do you recall those thrilling words of the Psalmist when ho referred to the omnipresence of God: “ If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art 1 hero. , . . Even there shall thy hand lend me, and thy right hand shall hold nu.” In the proportion you realise that God is omniscience, that He knows tho eternal truth about all that really exists, even to knowing you far better than you know yourself, knowing you and seeing you as He 'made yon in His own image and likeness, reflecting every quality of good—when yon discover this about yourself, and see that evil is not a part of you, docs not belong to you, and cannot control yon unless yon submit to it, then you bestir yourself to get rid of it by reducing it to its native nothingness. As you leant to know moro about God, your thought dwells less upon yourself and your own affairs, and you lose much of‘that injurious habit, of self-thinking that.shows itself in such tilings as sensitiveness, a: If-pity. self-righteousness, self-justifi-cation and self-condemnation, which is quite as bad. For, my friends, man does not need to be condemned, not even by himself; he needs to be saved. Hun, too, there comes to you a ■ sense of humility, that true humility which is not weakness, but. strength; th? humility which brings with it that true independence which comes from depending upon God and not upon man. As your {nought about God changes, so do you find your thought about men and things changing lor the bettor, you become, less harshly critical, more tolerant, patient and considerate. You for wet how to hate and you learn how to love. When you realise, as you do through Christian Science, that every quality of good is yours to reflect Oily, hourly, constantly, by virtue of jour divine heritage, then you begin to comprehend what Jesus means when he tells us that to know God “is life, eternal.”

in the old way .of thinking we used to hear much about man being the creature of circumstance. Christian .science is reversing this belief of limitation and hj proving that man, if he will, may he the master of circumstance, not its victim. There is a short seutei.or in onr text hook hearing on this subject containing only seven words, hut so carefully chosen and so skilfully grouped as to'form a standard for thought and action which inspires with courage, imparts endurance,“and leads to victory. You will find it on page 419 of Science and Health, and it reads:

“ Meet every adverse circumstance as its master.”

Not only are we here told to do this, but we are also shown how it is to be clone. Throughout the whole hook we are reminded that man’s divine birthright is dominion, not subjection. You remember that in the first chapter of Genesis, where the spiritual creation of man and the universe is described, we are told not that man is made from a rib, a bone, but that he is created in God’s image and likeness and is given dominion over all. That divine birthright ca~ never be taken from man. It is our- to-day and ever will ho. Is it not pitiful, then, that through fear or indifference or infidelity or lethargy, mankind has allowed this deific bestowal to lapse into desuetude? We need to be awakened and aroused, and to exercise our God-given authority. “How are we to do this?” you may ask. Again our text book answers your question on page 393. Hear these ringing words that should be emblazoned in letters of light upon the banner of every militant Christian who daily goes forth to victory over the forces of sickness, want, and woe: “Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable o|. this, and nothing can vitiate the ■ ability and power clivinelv bestowed on man ” !

But let us ever remember, my friends, that we ar6 to rise not through the exercise of the human will, not through hypnotism, occultism, or the like, but in the strength of Spirit. Our God-given dominion does not operate through the. channels that the human mind provides hut only through the ever-present and ever-avnilable forces of_ Spirit. "Hand in hand with dominion walks ever her twin sister obedience. To know the will of God is wisdom ; to obey it is joy. But mankind is not always wise, and the questions often arise: “ How am I to know what is God’s will in this matter? How am Ito know that 1 am in the place I should be and doing what 1 should do? lam often uncertain which step to take next. How can I get the guidance I need?” God never fails to keep His part of a proposal and here is one that answers your question. It promises you tho very guidance and direction you seek, and it asks of you in return nothing hut what you can certainly perform : “ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall' direct thy paths.” Do you find it difficult to trust in God? Perhaps it is because you have not tried hard enough, or long enough, or often enough. It should be easy for tho business man to learn to trust God. for the whole fabric of business is built on credit and credit rests upon trust, the trust of one man in another's integrity and ability and intentions. And when you accord to God the same degree of trust you do to your fellow man and beep your covenants with Him with the same degree of faithfulness, you will in all your ways be divinely guided, protected, and rewarded.

But while trusting to God wholeheartedly, it is never the part of wisdom to shape or outline in your own thought what God should do,‘ or what you would like Him to do, for until you can read the whole of the future, 1 you cannot determine infallibly what |is best for you, nor do you need to I know; God knows, and that is enough. | When you recognise this and remember that God is over-present good, you will j want above all else to do His will, whether it requires of you to do groat { things or small; whether it places you | where you may do much good to many | or merely do your own common duties day by day, duties which may at times , always be elevated, not. to ‘say glorified, by the consciousness that you arcj doing God’s service right where you are to-day. You will forgot the moaning ■of disappointment wlien yon get the ! habit of doing your best and j the,_ outcome in God's hands without | depicting or outlining to yourself how jit ought to result. When human I opinions and human desires are suh- | stituted for God’s will and God’s i methods, disappointment grows into I discouragement, the discouragement j that ton often leads to despair

In Christian Science God's will is the law of the universe. It is (he law which never operates through chance, luck, or hazard. Its results are sure and its opportunities are infinite. As we gain a better understanding of the operation of God’s law, we see that chance nr luck has noplace in it. We find ourselves rcI leased from tho old-time beliefs in ! ‘ hard luck” and the like. Nor do i the siren voices of good fortune ami good luck, beguile, delay, or mislead the

man who has within his reach unlimited opportunities for achievement. To the man who is trusting God, an ounce of present opportunity is worth more than a lon of capricious luck. It is an old saying that “opportunity knocks lint once at every man’s door.” Rut what matters that to tho man who lias learned whore opportunity dwells and knows that when she lias once knocked at his door, slip, is ever thereat l.er waiting for him to knock at jicr’s I hat she may welcome him in. Christian Science imparts the understanding of lining irhich shows that opportunity is ever present and ever available to the man who relics upon God more than upon himself or any other man or thing, or circumstance or belief. Mrs Eddv snvs (Christian Healing, p. ID), “Tireless Being, patient of man’s procrastination, affords him fresh opportunities every hour.” ** RIGHT THINKING. . There is a sentence in the textbook of Christian Science which tells ns that “ all causation is Afina” (Science and Health, p. 417). This being true, it follows that a thought of some kind is the foundation, the starting point, of every action, and that right habits of thinking lead to right habits of living. Much of tho trouble that weighs men down, that makes then? old before their time, that, invites disease, is due to their carrying along in their recollection some regrettable thing, sonic deplorable circumstances, long after the thing itself has passed and should bo buried in forgetfulness. Christian Science teaches tho art, of forgetting the tilings that are evil and remembering the things that arc good. And it is an art to forget evil, for.you know hew it readies out and dutches at your thought and forces itself upon you at every opportunity. Yet. nothing but evil can come from thinking evil, and there is no' surer way of expelling evil from our lives than to follow the words of tho Founder of Christian Science, “Keep your minds so filled with Truth and Love, that sin, disease and death cahnot enter them ” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, ]i. 210). God’s promise. “ I will take sickness away from the midst of thee,” was not made merely for the past or for the future, but for the presentIf one would know in what direction his thinking may be most profitable, he need but recall the words of that exponent, of right thinking, Paul of Tarsus: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, -whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are. just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Christian Science, through the right thinking that leads to right doing, affords to each one the moans of bringing into his day just the, brightness, progress and abundance of good that ho needs and longs for. PRAYER. To rule the day wisely, justly, beneficently, we must begin it rightly, Christian Science is showing men and women in every walk of life that there is no bettor way of beginning each day than to start it with a prayer. In. Christian Science there are no formal prayers for special occasions. It has no prayer book. Tho Lord’s Prayer is repeated in unison at all Christian Science services, and it is invariably preceded by a few moments of silent prayer by the congregation. Besides this, there is 9110 short prayer recommended for daily use. So simple is it, yet so reverent in its phraseology, so direct, yet so universal in its inclusions; so free from every suggestion of sect or doctrine is if, that_ it can be used unreservedly by any sincere man or woman of any church or of uo church Here it is as Mrs Eddy has given it to us: “ ‘Thy kingdom come:’ let the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all sin; and may Thy Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them !” (Manual. Art. VIII., Sect. 4.). The day that is begun with this prayer -or any other equally unselfish and uplifting, is sure to be a better, happier, healthier, and holier day because of it. Healing in Christian Science is always by means of prayer. The word generally used is “treatment,” but it is always to be understood that a, Christian Science treatment is a prayer, and just in the proportion that it is _ a righteous prayer, does it heal the sick and reform the sinner. It is not Hie prayer of supplication, but of realisation it is not merely asking God to do something for us, but knowing that He has already done the good thing desired. It “is the prayer in which gratitude is supplanting entreaty, confidence is expelling doubt, and perfect love is casting out fear. It is laying at’the feet of God the heart’s “ sincere desire, uttered or unexpressed,” and then patiently listening for His- “ Go in peace.” It i; the prayer of rejoicing. of conquest, of humility, of unselfish love. GRATITUDE VERSUS DISCOURAGEMENT. There is one other prayer that should ever be in the heart of man. the prayer of thankfulness, the prayer of gratitude. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing.and in everything to give thanks. Christian Science is showing that true gratitude, the gratitude that is expressed in deed as well as in thought and word, is more than a mere ■Christian grace; it is a Christian necessity. Not that God needs our gratitude, but we need to give it to. Him. Gratitude takes our thought from getting to giving, and he who gives good gets good. Perhaps you may find it difficult to be grateful to God; many people do. Let me tell you how to make it easy. Whatever of good comes to you, be it little or great, think of it as coming to you direct from God. • For everything that brings to you quiet joy, or peace, or tiaie delight) be it merely the smile on the face of a child, or the fragrance of a flower, or the daily opening 0 of the welcoming door of your home, or the nightly closing of your eves in sleep; be it some worthy action well done, or the timely lift of a friendly hand; be it song or sermon, beauty, art. or science, for every good that comes to yon, let some thought of gratitude to God ring through the innermost, chambers of your heart of hearts. Do this faithfully, and soon you will he doing it easily, and soon, too, you will so frequently in the sweet company of happiness that life will seem to be beginning anew. And it will be the beginning of new things, for gratitude is one of the gateways through which God’s blessings enter men’s”lives. ; If we keep it shut, need wo wonder why more of good does not come to ns? The man who is ill, the man who ,is unfortunate, the man who is afflicted, the man who has not that which he needs, if lie wonders why, will do well to ask himself often, “ Am 1 grateful enough for what I already have?'’ And the man who is discouraged! Ah, my friends, the discouraged man has but to invite gratitude into his consciousness to see discouragement vanish like darkness before the undininied sun. And here let it he said that there is not one man on this green earth to-day but can find something for which to he. . grateful to God. if he will only limit j for it honestly and earnestly. I Christian Science is tearing the mask I from the gloomy fnco of discourage- | ment and is exposing it in its true eolI ours. It may be truly said that nine j people out of ten submit to discouragement, without resistance because they do not know any better. They do not know that it is a mental intruder, a moral nuisance that should never he tolerated hut always shunned as one. would shun infectious disease. It is had because it is full of deceit. It tricks a man into believing he is a failure, when success may be waiting for him just around the corner. It deludes him until lie sees things crooked and believes things about himself and others (hat he knows are not true. It robs him of his courage, strips him of : bis ability, and mumbles into his ears I the. awful lie that God lias forgotten him. Discouragement is dangerous be-

tl.n, S , e iV' n M il f. and devel °P s iho ** evil thoughts hat later may be manifested u o.ul things, the most common of "Inch is aisoasn w its varied forms. bo, niv friends, whoncier you sop Urn dark and heavy loaves of discouragement growing m your menial gard?n, just remember that underneath neef erl \ yo,ir , fii R ht •msiispoe ed by you, may be reaching out the loots of those evil thoughts that grip and dwarf and sap a man’s very char,.Pu!l 11 . 1P,J ? «P-' Uproot them 1 nimi >Pt n r y ° t \ ,c , t yoUr il0:irl he so idled with gratitude to t.'od that dis couragement can find im foothold % you remember what an inspiring -x----amplc was set for v.s in that direction y Jesus, when lie began his prayer with the mortis, “Father, 1 thank thee. And if over the sower of evil smls tempts you 'to belipvo that void have little (O he thankful for, consider he many things yon hare this ver;- dw that you would not want to do without and then note how few of them wvre possesse 1 by hull who in speaking „f himself said “The foxes have holes and the bu-ds of the air have nests; hut the bon of man hath not where to ay its head. ’ And yet he prayed, bather. I thank thee.” The Bible tells us that " the prayer °f faith shall save the sick.” What may we not expect then of the prayer in which them is not only the abundance of faith but. also of understanding, of that essential knowledge M hod. of wisdom, of gratitude, of uuselted love? And every Christian Science treatment that is made up <•: these elements of righteousness, as every Christian Science treatment should he made up. heals the sick am the sinning and comforts the sorrowa ii comes a consciousness of God s protecting care and infinite at fection, a. consciousness that lends to higher aspirations and purer desires, that makes men and women want, to be bettor and want to know how to be better, that they may share in God’s infinite merer and justice and love.