Article December 4, 1909 Issue

DIFFICULTIES NOT HINDRANCES

SAMUEL GREENWOOD.

Jesus never spoke of the way of salvation as easy for the pilgrim; he pointed out the difficulties and hardships to be encountered and overcome by his disciples in all ages, saying, "The disciple is not above his master." He did teach, however, that these conditions need not be hindrances to the Christian's progress. Although he forewarned mankind of what his followers must meet, and of their inevitable struggle with the world, the flesh, and evil, he did not express the slightest doubt of their ability to prove God's power over all forms of human error.

Neither has Mrs. Eddy, in giving to mankind her discovery of the Science of Christianity, minimized the arduous effort it entails, nor the difficulties to be overcome by its students; but she has plainly shown that the nature of error has not changed, and that for one to be a Christian today in the sense that Christ Jesus was, calls for the same cross-bearing and endurance which were demanded of the Master. The demonstration of Christian Science is certainly not the way of ease and idleness, but the way of toil and struggle and final triumph. It offers no encouragement to those who would enter heaven by virtue of another's labor and sacrifice, but it emphasizes the necessity for each individual to work out his own salvation by his own endeavors and through his own knowledge of truth.

The disinclination of human thought to accept and demonstrate spiritual truth makes the way of Science more or less difficult for the student, but the good results realized more than compensate for the trial and sacrifice. If he learns at the beginning that no difficulty or hardship can be an obstacle to his progress, but is, instead, a call for the better work of which he is capable, then all such experiences will cease to be sources of discouragement, and will become incentives to greater diligence and devotion.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

FIDELITY TO GOD'S WORD