Article July 18, 1914 Issue

Peace and Rest

ANNA W. HOLLEBAUGH

Jesus said, "Come unto me, ... and I will give you rest," and "Peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you." Rest and peace such as the world gives are not desirable conditions, inasmuch as they usually mean indolence and inactivity if not laziness, and a false sense of security. In Science and Health (p. 519), we read, "The highest and sweetest rest, even from a human standpoint, is in holy work," while peace is found not in the possession of harmonious material conditions, but more often in spite of them, even the peace "which passeth all understanding."

There is an old-time fable of a man who having dwelt many years in a dark cave, grew weary of it, and began to pray for the sun to come and remove the darkness. "Darkness," said the sun,—"what is darkness?" The man replied, "If you will only come and look into my cave, you may see it for yourself." So the sun came, and looking into the cave its rays penetrated to the darkest recesses. "Darkness,—where is the darkness?" was the demand. And this is the demand of man today when he realizes that "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." God is All-in-all: then what and where is the darkness, or evil in any form, except as a false claimant, testifying to the absence of light, of good, the omnipresent God.

The question is sometimes asked, "Why do you say light is real and darkness is unreal, when the latter is as much in evidence as the former?" The answer came to the writer one morning on viewing the sunrise. When the sunlight appears, it is seen to be positive, for its rays dispel its opposite, the darkness. On the other hand, darkness is negative, for it has no power to dispel its opposite, light. It is no thing or entity, and is therefore unreal, being simply the supposed absence of light, which has source and substance. Health has a Principle, a source, while sickness has none; goodness has a creator, while evil has none; and so on through the round of real things versus unreal things. Reality is forever eternally true, perpetual in its being. Unreality is now and forever false; it flees before the light of Truth. As we consciously realize these things, as we come to Christ, Truth, we shall find peace and rest, "not as the world giveth," but that which it can neither give nor take away.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Peace and Rest

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access