A Life-Purpose

In making mention of her life-purpose, Mrs. Eddy, in "Miscellaneous Writings" concludes a letter to her students with these words, beginning on page 206; "As you journey, and betimes sigh for rest beside the still waters,' ponder this lesson of love. Learn its purpose; and in hope and faith, where heart meets heart reciprocally blest, drink with me the living waters of the spirit of my life-purpose,—to impress humanity with the genuine recognition of practical, operative Christian Science." So tremendously engrossed was the Discoverer and Founder of this Science in the carrying out of her life-purpose, that she was the inspired author not only of the textbook of Christian Science, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," but of numerous other writings on the subject.

Of Christ Jesus Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health (p. 328): "The purpose of his great life-work extends through time and includes universal humanity. Its Principle is infinite, reaching beyond the pale of a single period or of a limited following. As time moves on, the healing elements of pure Christianity will be fairly dealt with; they will be sought and taught, and will glow in all the grandeur of universal goodness." And of the purpose of his life-work Jesus himself bears record, "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth." The Master bore witness to this truth from his earliest years, for at the age of twelve he was in the temple, "in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions." At the age of thirty, he began his active ministry, and though permitted but three years in which to complete it, his task was finished, according to John's record of Jesus' final declaration on the cross. Such an achievement would have been humanly impossible; but the magnitude of his purpose, occupying every moment of the day and night, caused a complete sacrifice of earthly interests. Under the tremendous pressure of such divine inspiration, we see it made possible to accomplish in his brief mortal history what his followers did not attain during their lifetime.

The words of Mrs. Eddy concerning her life-purpose impress the reader with a sense of a profound conviction, fixed resolve, and unfaltering realization of the divinely inspired message which she was impelled to give to humanity. The noble grandeur of such a life-purpose compels sincere love and admiration for the individual who sees deeply enough and thinks clearly enough to give so selfless a service in behalf of those who as long as time endures will arise up and call her blessed. Mortal history records the names of hundreds, yea, of thousands, on its honor roll, whose lives have been consecrated to noble purposes, and these lives are beacon lights along the way. But in sharp contrast to such characters are those of the unnumbered host who for lack of direction have drifted, purposeless and unthinking, along the river of time to an uncertain bourn. Comparatively speaking, few among mankind, out of its millions, can be said to have a specifically defined, well formulated life-purpose. True, there are desultory desires to do well, just as there are nefarious intrigues to overthrow the kingdom of heaven; there is the hurried maturity of the mortal, his brief noonday of accomplishment of material ambitions, and swift decline to old age. Scant time there seems to be for the necessary prayer and meditation that spell the foundation of an established life-purpose. Christian Science has come as a remedial agent for this state of thought. It says to mankind, in the words of Paul, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light."