Article January 24, 1931 Issue

Considering the Lilies

LUCIA C. COULSON

Gaze into the face of a flower swaying amidst the long grass on a spring morning, and see what is written there that they who run may read! A symbol of the gentleness, the gayety, the harmlessness of being, a hint of the smile of God! Meek, and yet adding to the beauty all around it, praising God with its unstinted fragrance! No trace of rivalry or self-seeking is there; no lust for gold or for possession; but radiant innocence, shining forth its joy. Well has Mrs. Eddy said in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 240), "The floral apostles are hieroglyphs of Deity."

If mortals would only learn that happiness lies in goodness, that bliss is to be found in gentleness and loving service, that gayety belongs to harmlessness, and that those qualities of God will open heaven to us now! The kingdom of heaven! What is needed that we may enter it here and in this present moment? Not dying! That is not the gateway. Only this, that every mortal be willing to lay down his sordid selfhood, manufactured out of sordid thoughts, and replace these with qualities that shine as the flowers shine, each one innocent, happy, his life fragrant with selfless giving.

Probably all through the ages men have desired so to do and to think; but it is the revelation of Christian Science that alone enables them to accomplish these desires. With its marvelous announcement of the unreality evil, it is empowering us to demonstrate, little by little, the immanence and allness of good. With the good news that the mortal selfhood is a counterfeit, a false, unreal concept of individuality or true selfhood, we find added to our faith the wings of understanding, and with scientific certainty we can prove our position. Then it will be found that in truth we have never lost the gladness and innocence of that true childhood of God's children whose "angels do always behold the face" of the Father in heaven.

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January 24, 1931
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