Editorial November 21, 1903 Issue

A Worthier Gratitude

One of the most regrettable aspects of much of our thanksgiving is its attachment to a material sense and estimate of good. When the lap is piled high with creature comforts and all occasions of anxiety for the morrow are removed, a sincere and abundant expression of thankfulness is certainly most fitting, but if these passing benefits have failed to bring to the embrace of grateful thought those richer gifts with which our years are crowned, then surely we have not heard their nobler appeal, the choicest of the wine has been wasted, and the heart's response is likely to have been more selfish far than saintly.

To cherish earthly possessions in forgetfulness of the heavenly is to sacrifice substance for an imperfect symbol. Health and home, friends and fireside, peace and plenty, these all mean much of good, and are to be appreciated; but so long as they are linked in thought to the material, they are transient,—they may not even fringe the garments of God's munificence; and can we be content to hold our gaze thus low when the full splendor of His appearing awaits an uplifted vision? No, our repose must find its firmer base, our joy its better prompting in that spiritual gain which knows no loss,—the awakening call and consciousness of Truth,—the opened door to man's true inheritance, a perfect selfhood, the sonship of God.

Our worthier gratitude is therefore but the fragrance of our worthier sense, the sign of that true healing which Christian Science—the Knowledge of God—brings to all mankind. The spiritual concept of life and interpretation of experience raises humanity to the vantage-point of Jesus where the acquirement of an earthly good normally attends the possession of the heavenly. This means vastly more than to-day's relief from disquieting solicitude, it means that a transformation within has brought transformation without, and our deepest gratitude is now felt for "the things that are not seen."

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