Article November 13, 1909 Issue

"FOR OUR SAKES"

ANNIE M. PAYNE.

FILLED with the Holy Ghost; conscious through meekness and obedience of his nearness to the Father; hearing with joy his great kinsman's humble acknowledgment of his unspoken claim; and crowned during the initial step of his career by a heavenly voice which characterized him as indeed the Son of God,—there came to Jesus after his baptism that human sense of reaction which shadows the footsteps of the reformer and which has hurled many from the heights of assurance to the depths of doubt. Driven by mortal strain into the wilderness, Jesus tasted in full measure its "loneliness; doubt; and darkness" (Science and Health, p. 597); yet, like the knight in Briton Riviere's fine picture, he could say, "Into thy hands, O God!" even as the pitchy darkness of the unknown path closed around him.

Was he the Son of God? Why, then, was he here in the wilderness, alone and hungry? Even the rebellious children of Israel had their manna, but before him lay nothing but stones. What then! If he were indeed the child of omnipotence, he could surely command that those stones be turned into bread! So argued the tempter, ready as he always is to suggest the mingling of evil with good, to cause disheartenment by suggesting the material, or by demanding a higher demonstration than one is ready for.

But Jesus was equal to the wiles of his subtle foe. He realized that materiality could not disappear so long as a sense of despondency, or absence of God, obtained in consciousness, and he replied significantly: "It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." The phrase, "every word of God," reminds us of many passages in our Leader's writings, among them these: "The human footsteps leading to perfection are indispensable. . . . When we wait patiently on God and seek Truth righteously, He directs our path" (Science and Health, p. 254). The hour would come when through the bounty of perfect understanding and trust the thronging multitudes would find five loaves sufficient to meet their need. The hour would come when to a crucified body a great stone at the grave's mouth could offer no resistance. But the time of such fruitage was not yet.

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