Editorial March 7, 1925 Issue

"Comforted of God"

Ella W. Hoag

WHAT heart is there in all the world which has not at times cried out for comfort? What multitudes have longed for the comfort which would assuage their griefs, relieve their sorrows, allay their anguish, still their distresses! How earnestly have men prayed for that comfort which would enable them at least to endure their afflictions, that they might go forward undaunted and undismayed! How frequently, too, have friendly hearts desired, with a desire unutterable, to carry to those in difficulty the comfort which would dispel the gloom and bring strength and courage to the afflicted ones!

While all Christians have desired to look to God in times of trouble, they have very often failed to know how to do this. Because, in seasons of happiness and success, they have depended so largely on their own efforts they have frequently failed to see how to rely on God in times of stress. To know Him as a God who could comfort them has been quite beyond their comprehension; since they have not realized this heavenly comfort, how impossible for them to carry it to others. Rarely has the world understood what Paul meant when he said: "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God."

Now in order to receive this comfort from God that thereby we may learn how to comfort others, Christian Scientists recognize that they must accept and practice the truth of being which Christian Science has revealed,—that truth which proclaims God as infinite good and man as the reflection of this good. The instant one commences to discern this truth of being he begins to understand that he must of necessity share this good with others. Indeed, one can be conscious only of the good he reflects. A sense of good "kept laid up in a napkin" has never been of any value to the supposed owner of it or to any one else; while a good shared always seems to multiply good, as well as to establish it more firmly in the thought of him who does the sharing.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Editorial

On the Value of Obedience