Editorial February 17, 1912 Issue

PONDERINGS

Annie M. Knott

In Proverbs we read: "Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established." We also read that "the Lord pondereth the hearts." Now to ponder means to weigh, as in a balance, and to our present human sense this may mean that we shall place the material over against the spiritual, in order to decide which shall have the most influence in our own lives or in the affairs of the nation. The Christian Scientist, however, does not need to do this if he turns to Principle first of all, for he knows that Spirit and spiritual things alone are real. Isaiah asks who it is that "hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand," and weighed "the hills in a balance?" He answers that it is God, Spirit, and then he tells us that all these, all nations, "before him are as nothing." Mrs. Eddy brings to us the same thought in her article entitled "The March Primary Class," where we read, "You have come to be weighed; and yet, I would not weigh you, nor have you weighed. How is this? Because God does all, and there is nothing in the opposite scale. There are not two,—Mind and matter. We must get rid of that notion" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 280).

To reach the spiritual altitude where the allness of divine Mind is to us the one fact, we need to ponder deeply the things of Spirit, and in doing this we shall very likely be surprised to find how much there is of material belief on the scale of our consciousness. It will seem to have weight and to influence our decisions, unless we take time to acquaint ourselves intelligently with the spiritual facts involved, and it is well worth while to do this, for not otherwise can we set right the tangles of mortal belief, till "the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain."

It were well for us if we always took the wise man's advice, and pondered the path of our feet until all our ways were established. We read in the second chapter of Luke that the Virgin-mother did this; that all the wonderful occurrences connected with the appearing of the divine idea expressed through Christ Jesus were reserved for the hours of communion with God. The record says, "Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." In the same chapter we read that she kept in her heart all the sayings of Jesus, even though they were not fully understood by herself or Joseph. Too often do we hasten to tell some one of an idea of Truth which is just dawning upon us, when it were better far to await its fuller unfoldment; and even then its best expression would be in deeds more than in words. So, too, when difficulties seem to present themselves, if we would always ponder our problems alone with the divine Mind, we would learn how true it is that God giveth wisdom "liberally, and upbraideth not," and this not alone to a favored few, but to "all men."

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Editorial

"WITH WHAT MEASURE YE METE."