Editorial October 13, 1923 Issue

"The sword of the Spirit"

Ella W. Hoag

Jesus , the tender and compassionate, the loving and forgiving, was nevertheless the one who rebuked wrong most unflinchingly. When he said to his disciples, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword," he made a statement so startling that it has reverberated down the centuries, and to-day men are asking, as never before, just what he meant. To-day, as never before, they are wondering how to reconcile this statement with the fact that his birth was ushered in with the assurance that his presence was to mean "on earth peace, good will toward men."

The world on every side is troubled, and longing to understand how to attain peace. It is waking up to see that to cry "Peace, peace; when there is no peace," accomplishes little, if anything, in the right direction. Men are recognizing that evil cannot be condoned and excused, that it cannot be covered up, and at the same time a secure peace be built on such a false foundation. They are beginning to know that if permanent good is to be won, "the sword of the Spirit," which Paul defined as "the word of God," must be used vigorously, and every claim of evil must be first uncovered and then conquered completely. Men cannot carry their sins along with them and ever attain heaven. With sin still in their hearts there could be no heaven for them; for so long as sin seems to last, suffering is sure to eventuate in some form.

Humanity is, however, slow to accept this. Although many may believe they have seen the undesirability of the grosser forms of sin, they still cling to the hope that they may be able to carry with them what they are pleased to call harmless pleasures, though the virtue of the source of these pleasures may be questionable. Even the Christian Scientist is apt to resist some of the demands of the law of righteousness. With the revelation which Christian Science brings that all is good, he sometimes jumps to the conclusion that harmony should immediately be established in all his affairs, and he often wonders why he should apparently be beset with all sorts of difficulties. He forgets that Mrs. Eddy tells us in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 207): "Because God is Spirit, evil becomes more apparent and obnoxious proportionately as we advance spiritually, until it disappears from our lives. This fact proves our position, for every scientific statement in Christianity has its proof."

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

"The sword of the Spirit"

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access