Editorial August 10, 1907 Issue

GRATITUDE

Annie M. Knott

It is not always seen that the great changes which are taking place in the material world but indicate the changes which have come about in the thought world,—that just as hitherto unknown elements are being revealed by chemistry, so we are beginning in Christian Science to recognize mental and spiritual qualities which were formerly unknown, or at least held to be of but slight importance. Through its teachings we learn the necessity of expressing those mental qualities which bespeak a recognition of the infinite Mind and a response to its activities. In materia medica it is considered of the highest importance to study disease in order to overcome it, but in Christian Science we are taught that it is necessary to understand all the manifestations of God, good, in order to destroy evil.

In the days of Christ Jesus and his followers, the desert wastes of human experience began to blossom and to bring forth the fruits of Spirit,—"love, joy, peace," etc.,—and thankfulness or gratitude for the healing truth was never absent from this fruitage. In witness of this we are told of the "very costly" ointment which Mary of Bethany poured out upon the feet of the Master who had but a few days before called her brother from the tomb. We are also told of the costly spices and ointments, "an hundred pounds weight," which Joseph and Nicodemus provided for the burial of Jesus. These were said to have been of immense value, worth a king's ransom, but they were not too costly to symbolize the gratitude of those who had learned from the great Teacher what it means to be "born of the Spirit." Mortal malice had offered Jesus the vinegar and the gall, but at the very hour when the cause of Truth seemed to be shadowed by defeat, these two hitherto unavowed disciples were prompted by gratitude to confess their loyalty to this cause and to give freely of their wealth in return for the treasures of Truth.

There are some who do not understand why Christian Scientists should express so much gratitude to the Discoverer of Christian Science. One writes that she did not understand this gratitude until she herself experienced the joy of healing another, and saw that other's thankfulness for being saved from a dread disease. "Then," she says, "my own gratitude overflowed to all to whom I was indebted for this understanding. I can never pay my debt of gratitude to Mrs. Eddy for the patient, persistent giving out of her discovery to the world, but I can try to pay part of it by passing on this truth to some other who needs it. It is the overflow that enriches!"

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