Article August 16, 1919 Issue

Paul's words, "Rejoice evermore," to the church of the...

The Christian Science Monitor

Paul's words, "Rejoice evermore," to the church of the Thessalonians bring out what was a striking feature of this apostle's general demeanor. No matter what the condition in which he might find himself, whether it was in the company of the friends who knew the spiritual truth as he himself did, or whether he was being subjected to the mockery of men or to the imprisonment they imposed upon him, Paul was able to rise to a very marked extent above all such impositions, because he saw the illusory nature of them all, through his understanding of the truth as it had been revealed by Christ Jesus.

An outstanding example of this is recorded in the sixteenth chapter of Acts. Paul and Silas had been thrown into prison, their feet being made fast in the stocks. "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God ... and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed." Then followed the conversion of the keeper of the prison and all his household to the spiritual truth which had enabled Paul and Silas to bring about their freedom from the bonds and ultimately their final release from the prison environs. The liberation was a demonstration of their knowledge of Principle.

Now it is quite impossible to explain this incident without an understanding of divine metaphysics. The incident is analogous to the victory of Christ Jesus over the tomb. For three days he was doing a great work there. At the end of that time the Master came forth from the rock-hewn sepulcher from which the stone had been rolled away, prepared to make his final demonstration over material belief at the ascension. How were these marvelous things done? What enabled these men to break what was generally accepted as hard and fast material law, to set aside this so-called law which sought to bind, enslave, and torture them? These are questions Christian Science answers clearly and unhesitatingly.

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