Editorial April 11, 1914 Issue

"The salt of the earth"

John B. Willis

Nothing is more noticeable, in studying the words of Christ Jesus, than the fulness and finality with which he expressed himself in a few words, and this is well illustrated in that remarkable saying to his disciples, "Ye are the salt of the earth." The knowledge of the preservative nature of salt is as universal as its use, and to make it a synonym for the virtues of Christian character is at once to open the door of thought to many interesting analogies.

To the Christian Scientist the intimation that the earth is to be saved by something unlike itself is perfectly intelligible. He has learned that all earthiness is made up of the latent or assertive false beliefs of human sense, and that it is expressing the substanceless instability of its nature in the disease and decay which are forever featuring its history. He understands, therefore, that salvation means the appearing in consciousness of that light of Truth which dispels the darkness of its past untruth, and that in this declaration Jesus was addressing purified human sense, or man.

All mankind are confronted today with tremendous problems. In every land men are earnestly seeking relief from the fact or fear of disease, want, and war. Singly or together, these have constituted the reef on which human hope and happiness have usually been wrecked, and though the heroism of the effort which is being put forth to save the situation is very splendid, it is discouragingly futile. Unless, therefore, one has come to realize in some degree that there is no sufficient reason for believing in the substantiality and power of evil, and that it can be defeated in the way which Christ Jesus came to exemplify, it is simply impossible for him to look upon life's tragedy, in its world-wide proportions, and escape a sense of despair. The moment one enters the day-dawn of Christian Science, however, and perceives that the earth-clouds are vanishing before the steadily advancing light of spiritual apprehension, then he can take heart. He perceives that man, the Christ-consciousness, can become the savior of men, of doubting and dismayed human sense. To truth, error has no place or power, and it is this fact that crowns and commissions the truth-loving.

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