Editorial January 15, 1910 Issue

"HERE A LITTLE, AND THERE A LITTLE."

Annie M. Knott

Many questions are asked by earnest seekers after Truth, as to how they can best gain a practical understanding of Christian Science themselves, and impart it to children, either in their homes or in the Sunday School. All do not at once see that the trend of thought is changed when we come into Christian Science; they are apt to forget Paul's statement, that to the follower of Christ "old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God," which most surely means that only spiritual things are now to be regarded as real. It does not take the honest inquirer long to find out that this is no vague theoretical teaching; that, on the contrary, when we begin to think somewhat as God thinks, we work with a definite purpose and with a certainty of accomplishing our purpose, which cannot be other than a good one if we reflect God's thought. Mortals learn by hard experiences that disappointment and failure follow so long as materiality is made the goal, when it ought to be spiritual reality.

The eager, curious thought of childhood would often ply the parent or teacher with puzzling questions as to who is who in some Bible story, but this is because the child has not yet learned to look away from the material to the spiritual in order to have an answer that is worth while. It is true that, if we endeavor to answer these questions on a historical basis, we should set the children a good example in accuracy and in the careful study of the topic involved. For example, a child once asked how it came about that Cain had a son who was so good that he overcame death. A little study of the earlier chapters of Genesis shows that, although Cain had a son who was named Enoch, according to the record, the Enoch who "walked with God," and was "translated," was a descendant of Seth, a younger brother of Cain. The all-important point, however, is to show the child what it means to walk with God,—what it did for Enoch, and what it will do today for every man, woman, and child who walks in the light of Truth.

The teacher may not always be ready to explain a question literally; indeed this is not always possible or desirable, since many of the Bible statements are allegorical or figurative, but we should always be ready to lift thought to the spiritual fact which is the bread of life, and which is the one thing needful for child and adult alike. What is more, the spiritual fact, if rightly apprehended, will clarify and quicken the human mind and do wonders in enabling each one to work out the daily problems, so that there shall be no room for low aims, but, as Mrs. Browning says,—

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