Article July 23, 1927 Issue

Long-Suffering, a "fruit of the Spirit"

ISRAEL PICKENS

Christian Science , corroborating and confirming the truths of Scripture, teaches, in the words of Mrs. Eddy, that "all is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 468). Mind decreed, "Let there be light [intelligence]: and there was light." "Without him [Mind, God] was not any thing made that was made."

Christ Jesus gave us many beautiful lessons regarding the perfect spiritual creation. He defined God as perfect when he called upon mankind to become perfect even as the Father in heaven is perfect. He spoke of the good tree as bringing forth only good fruit, and of the pure fountain as pouring forth only pure water. Thus we learn that the qualities and characteristics which comprise the nature of God must be good only.

Paul clearly recognized these expressions of God's nature and spoke of them as the "fruit of the Spirit." Some of these he enumerated as "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." In this classification he by no means intended to imply that these are the only divine attributes; for the individual qualities and attributes of God are indeed innumerable. The seven synonyms given in Science and Health (p. 465), which refer to the one God, may be manifested or expressed through countless individual ideas. And each idea is good, each is constructive, each reflects some phase of God's nature.

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