Editorial May 27, 1911 Issue

"COME UNTO ME"

Archibald McLellan

Jesus' saying, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," has furnished the text for many a sermon, and its strong assurance that there is indeed a rest for the wearied ones whose daily burdens seem greater than they can bear, has brought comfort to thousands who had otherwise succumbed to discouragement and dismay in the face of what seemed to be both material and spiritual defeat. It will be noted, however, that like almost all of the other promises and exhortations of the Master, there is a condition prescribed, upon the fulfilment of which the reward to be enjoyed is dependent.

In this instance the condition, "Come unto me," is so simply stated that many would say it was not of great importance; that the words convey more of an invitation than they do of a condition; but this failure to sense the real import of Jesus' teaching in this saying is precisely where its value is minimized. If we understand these words to have any lesser meaning than that we are to give up all belief in materiality, then we have missed the full meaning of the lesson and the encouragement which it should convey to us. Mrs. Eddy has said, "Rest assured you can never lack God's outstretched arm so long as you are in His service" (Messages to The Mother Church, p. 37), and this assurance of the Father's loving care for His children, and the condition upon which we must be willing to receive it, is precisely what we find in Jesus' saying. "Come unto me" does not, however, mean that we shall have some ecstatic and emotional concept of the Saviour, but that we shall know and understand God, Spirit, as the Principle of all being, that we shall see Him as omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent; know that "he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep," that "the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear."

There is another issue attaching to this condition that must not be lost sight of, namely, the action implied in the command "Come unto me," if the promised boon is to be received; not a passive acceptance, but a diligent seeking, a going after that which we so earnestly long for. The same sense of activity on the part of the recipient of the bounty is conveyed in the Master's precept: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." The note of assurance in this declaration rings true. There will be no failure on the part of the giver of "every good gift and every perfect gift;" the essential thing is that we shall do our part in the asking, seeking, or knocking.

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