One of the unmistakable signs of an enlightened government is the fact that it insures to its honest citizens the peaceful possession of all their inherent rights and privileges. In a righteous nation, its laws, its courts of justice, and an intelligent public opinion, secure to each the permanent enjoyment of all that belongs to him. The inheritance which he has received, the property he has honestly acquired, the privileges he has honorably won, must not be unlawfully taken from him, nor is he to be disturbed in his enjoyment of them. If one were not allowed to rest secure in his heritage, then law would give place to lawlessness, order to disorder, and peace to war and injustice. The test of a just government lies in its maintenance of the rights of its citizens.

If this be true of an earthly government, how much more true of that government in which God is sovereign! It is His invincible law that all shall retain and maintain every right which He has bestowed upon them. Man is God's child, and every law of the Father supports the son in the exercise of his rights. Man is the reflection of Life, Truth, and Love, and the demands of eternal justice are that he enjoy here and now the peace, prosperity, and dominion which belong to him as an offspring of such a glorious trinity. Because of this birthright he can confidently heed the admonishment in Science and Health, "Be firm in your understanding that the divine Mind governs," and "rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good" (p.393). If we believe that we have inherited evil, materially, we should understand that through Christian Science we have inherited the power to overcome evil, spiritually.

It will be remembered that from the dawn of history the patriarchs and prophets have looked forward to a land where Israel might abide in peace and plenty. Abraham foresaw "a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God;" and the "new Jerusalem" was in time to be the home of righteous Israel, in which justice and harmony should prevail. The woeful mistake of pharisaism has been to fasten on the minds of mortals the belief that this "city" is not a present possibility, but a distant heaven to which one may at some future time attain. This mistaken and unfortunate teaching as to a post-mortem heaven has robbed men of their birthright here, and has made them content with, or submissive to, wrong and injustice this side of the grave, with the expectation that they are to have hereafter an eternity of idle enjoyment upon "flowery beds of ease." To seek to know ourselves as children of the Most High, and then to claim what already belongs to us as such, is to be at least approaching the goal. George MacDonald wisely writes of one of his characters, "It was truth and higher truth he was always seeking—only one thing could satisfy: the conscious presence of the eternal."

Students of Christian Science are well aware of its lifegiving and peace-bestowing teaching. They know that as children of the heavenly Father the heritage which is theirs by reason of the Father's gift is life, health, peace, and comfort, here and now. They realize that the "new Jerusalem" should be their immediate place of abode. As we read the twenty-first chapter of Revelation we find no hint that any one has to die in order to reach this city, for St. John plainly says that he saw it "coming down from God out of heaven in other words, the divine ideal was coming down to men. Those who permit right thinking and right living to prevail, do not need to be reminded that heaven is here, because they are already experiencing it. "Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation," and mental possessions are the only actual possessions.

Christ Jesus' parable of the sower contains many helpful lessons for those who would protect and maintain their true heritage. The precious gift of sonship is sometimes grasped by one in whom evil desires seem rampant, and like the fowls that devoured the seed sown by the wayside, they snatch away the true sense of God-given heritage. Christian Science helps one to drive off evil thoughts, so that the spiritual consciousness of a priceless inheritance is untouched, and one is set free to enter into full possession of man's divine rights. Again, this patrimony sometimes falls upon what seems shallow earth, and "when tribulation or persecution ariseth," this recipient of spiritual blessings becomes discouraged, and is sometimes tempted to sell his birthright for the proverbial "mess of pottage." Instead of this it devolves upon each one who knows the truth to defend his heritage at every point, so that no foes, either within or without, shall rob him of any part of it. Paul undoubtedly had this in mind when he wrote to Timothy: "Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us."

Here too the instructions contained in Science and Health help one to deepen and enrich the soil, until in place of the shallow, barren earth of mortal opinions, there is the deep, fertile loam of spiritual understanding. Then tribulations and persecutions come in vain, for the roots of true manhood sink so deep into the soil of truth that they firmly sustain and-strengthen. At times the good seed seems to be sown among thorns, and "the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches," strive to hinder one from realizing his birthright. But the followers of divine Science are able to uproot the thorns, to overcome the "cares" and "deceitfulness," and so find freedom from the weight of worldly burdens. Thus the revelation of Truth brought to the present age by our revered Leader, will in time make each student like unto him who "heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

Even in the best of earthly governments it is expected that its citizens themselves will not permit robbery, nor submit to the unjust deprivation of their rights. So in the spiritual kingdom it is demanded that each one shall hold firmly to his God-given rights. He is to know, individually, that he cannot be deprived of that heaven-bestowed heritage which forever abides. He is bidden to retain and maintain every rightful possession, every inherent privilege that is his as God's spiritual child. Thus will he learn at all times to bear in mind our Leader's counsel (Science and Health, p. 421): "Insist vehemently on the great fact which covers the whole ground, that God, Spirit, is all, and that there is none beside Him."

Copyright, 1915, by The Christian Science Publishing Society