Article September 1, 1928 Issue

Uses of the Wilderness

BETHEL GILLIAM

We are told in Mark's Gospel that after he had heard the voice of God calling him His beloved Son, Jesus went into the wilderness, and that he was there "forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts." Mrs. Eddy defines "wilderness" in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 597) as "loneliness; doubt; darkness. Spontaneity of thought and idea; the vestibule in which a material sense of things disappears, and spiritual sense unfolds the great facts of existence."

It is apparent from the Scriptures that Jesus was fully cognizant of his divine mission, and knew that in order to accomplish that mission he must hold steadfastly to the spiritual and scientific fact that he was, indeed, the Son of God. The temptation of Satan and the wild beasts were evidently the evil suggestions of the carnal mind which attempted to frighten and discourage him. That Jesus repudiated every one of these evil suggestions, we have Scriptural proof; for we are told in Matthew that "the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him." Mrs. Eddy defines "angels," on page 581 of Scienceand Health as "God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality."

In our journey from sense to Soul we all have our wilderness experiences; for we are all in "the vestibule in which a material sense of things disappears, and spiritual sense unfolds the great facts of existence." This period of purification presents many phases. Conditions sometimes seem distressing, and pass quickly or linger, according to the wise or unwise view we take of them. At other times we rest in green pastures, beside the quiet waters. As material sense continues to give place to spiritual sense, we come to recognize the golden thread of harmony which has accompanied us all the way—even when the way seemed dark to sense; and we can more intelligently separate the real from the unreal, and can realize that God never will forsake us, but that He is caring for us all of the time.

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