Article February 27, 1909 Issue

THE FRAGRANCE OF CHARACTER

MARGARET C. CAMERON

IN Isaiah we read, "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose." A pretty legend tells us that after our Saviour had left the tomb on the resurrection morning, flowers sprang up in the path behind him. This legend may be fanciful, but it contains the germ of a truth, and if read aright it has a useful lesson for us. The flowers found in Christ Jesus' path after he left the world were fragrant with his holy influence, from which sprang faith, hope, charity, and all other Christian virtues; flowers, indeed, with a far richer perfume than those of the garden and field, sweet as they are.

The flowers that grace our character and render others happy will be ever treasured, and a garden of fair blossoms is discerned afar. If we follow in Christ's footsteps by healing the sick and the sinning, we help to redeem the waste places of the earth. Our dear Leader speaks of a rose as "the smile of God" (Science and Health, p. 175), and the sweet flowers that have blossomed along her path are sending out their fragrance all over the world, and beautifying the paths of all God's children with their messages of love and purity; the virtues that grace her path are also springing up in the lives of all who follow her teachings. As she sets us an example of how to love God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves, so should we bring the fragrance of the truth taught in Christian Science, to cheer some lonely heart.

We cannot live for ourselves alone, even if we would, for every one with whom we come in contact, no matter for how short a time, must be either the better or the worse for the meeting. This is a serious question which we as Christian Scientists should ask ourselves: What flowers are springing up in the path that we are leaving behind us? The opportunity is ours to bring out the sweet flowers of love, gentleness, patience, courtesy, sympathy, charity, and meekness, that we may brighten therewith the way of the children of men.

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