Article April 14, 1934 Issue

Beyond the Silver Lining

GLENN E. DOUGLAS

An aviator, taking off in the midst of an enshrouding fog, may soon rise above the mist. He will then enjoy the beauty presented by the silvery nature of the clouds surging below him. However beautiful they may seem to be, he finds no lasting satisfaction in the clouds, because he realizes that they obscure his vision of the earth. He recognizes, moreover, that until the mist is dispelled by the sun he faces the possibility of being forced to descend, temporarily at least, into it.

Similarly, through the healing and regenerating influence of Christian Science, thought rises above the mist of mortal mind, as expressed in some phase of sickness, sin, sorrow, or limitation, into the light of a more spiritual understanding of God and of man's relationship to Him. Through the healing experienced, the clouds of materiality may then appear to have a silver lining; and the aspect presented through the surmounting of an error seems to be desirable. But the sincere student, recognizing that "matter is temporal and is therefore a mortal phenomenon, a human concept, sometimes beautiful, always erroneous" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 277), will do well to turn whole-heartedly to Spirit, knowing that the sunlight of Truth dispels the entire mist of materiality that would obscure his vision of the Christ.

The seeming desirability of the silver lining—the improved human conditions—may tempt some students to indulge in a self-satisfied attempt to use their knowledge of Christian Science merely to secure health, happiness, and prosperity in matter. They may desire to rid themselves of the pains and disappointments of matter and retain its seeming pleasures. But, since "the creations of matter arise from a mist or false claim" (ibid., p. 523), and are therefore ephemeral, any attempts to find lasting satisfaction in the pleasurable aspects of matter must invariably end in failure; and unless the sunlight of understanding dissolves belief in matter as real, the yielding to this temptation results in a descent again into the mist of mortal mind with its trials and tribulations. In order to gain freedom from this mental miasma, the student must awake to the recognition of the fact that both the pleasures and the pains of the material senses are illusions; and with self-abnegation he must turn unreservedly to Spirit, fulfilling the promise of God voiced by Jeremiah, "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."

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