Article July 10, 1920 Issue

"That a man lay down his life"

ROSE SEELYE-MILLER

Christ Jesus said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Paul said, "I die daily." A new insight into these sayings came recently. Jesus was not afraid to lay down his life, for "perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment." When "perfect love," divine Principle, casts out of mortal consciousness the thought of mortality, then fear is shorn of itself, for where there is no mortality there can be no fear. To lay down our sense of mortal life opens to us the gates of immortality, and the immortal can have no sense of fear of losing life, because the immortal can no more lose life than God Himself can be shorn of existence. We may lay down our life for our friends; but not until we are sure of that perfect love which casts out fear. We lay down life for our true Friend—for Truth, Life, Love, all good—when we become conscious of possessing this "friend."

To "die daily" does not mean that our mortal frame is slowly passing into dissolution; it means merely that daily we are losing our sense of mortal life, that a supposed mortal consciousness of life is being supplanted by that fuller, freer life of the divine, immortal, ever present, all-loving, all-supplying good. As Mrs. Eddy says in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 179), "We must lay aside material consciousness, and then we can perceive Truth, and say with Mary, 'Rabboni!'—Master!" Who is there amongst us who would not joyfully lay down his mortal consciousness in exchange for the immortal? Who would not lay down his mortal life,—the fear, disease, all evil accruing to, or by, or with this mortal life, for the "friend"—perfect Love—that casts out all evil belief? To be every whit whole does not mean to be partly so,—it means what it says. No healing is complete so long as a vestige of evil is left. The Perfect is perfect, and we are enjoined to be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect. We could not be perfect any other way. "He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." May we all lay down our lives for Truth's sake—the only "Friend" who can give to us the realization of "the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God [good]."

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Individual Responsibility