How often in the student's progress in Christian Science, in the midst of turmoil, comes the need for proving the truth as did the Master when he stilled the storm: "And there was a great calm"! How often from the sick, the sinning, the heart-weary, or the unemployed comes the pitiful human cry which preceded that great calm, "Lord, save us: we perish"!

In this wonderful narrative we have full proof of the power of divine Love to still the raging tempest. Apparently seeking peace and rest, Jesus had retired to a ship, and leaving his disciples to guide it to the other side of the lake, he fell asleep. Presently the wind swept the lake and a storm arose, and "the ship was covered with the waves;" but the Master quietly rested. The raging elements could not disturb his peace.

Quickly the disciples awoke him. In their terror they had only one thought—"We perish"! But in their fear they immediately turned to the one whom they had learned to love and trust. Their fear indeed was great; but love is greater, infinitely greater, than fear. Their human cry brought instant response. Quietly the Master rebuked the fear. Despite the raging tempest, through his knowledge of ever-present Life his thought was dwelling in "the secret place of the most High." Instantly the elements were stilled, and "there was a great calm." The disciples, whose thoughts were turned from fear to faith, from matter to Spirit, from fear of death to Life, witnessed error's immediate subjection before the power of omnipotent Mind.

In all his mighty works Jesus brought out the naturalness and simplicity of Mind's perfect control over every condition. With quiet strength he demonstrated the healing Christ. That which stilled the tempest, healed sickness, fear, and sin, was the impersonal Christ, Truth, available to all. And what is the Christ? On page 583 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy defines "Christ" as "the divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error." By following the Master in his demonstration of the Christ, we rise above the winds and storms of material sense. We too, as he did, can possess the certainty of our God-given dominion. He never admitted failure, or the supremacy of error of any kind. He obeyed no material laws. His purpose was solely to express his divine Father-Mother God, and through this expression to draw all men to the realization of their true selfhood.

The same beliefs of fear, of lack, or of sickness which Jesus met and mastered can be overcome today. Here the revelation of the Bible is made practical by the teachings of Christian Science. Through this demonstrable Science we begin to realize with calm confidence that the ever-present power of divine Love eliminates from our consciousness the strife or sickness caused by the belief in the power of sin or sorrow. Just now, when the world appears to us as the Galilean Sea appeared to the disciples—tempest-tossed and tumultuous—we can turn, as did Christ Jesus, with quiet confidence to the realization of the supremacy of Truth over error, of Spirit over matter, of good over evil, thus helping to free mankind from falsely imposed bondage.

In the place of disturbing fear we can experience the abiding peace of omnipresent Love. In the place of lack we can perceive the abundance of spiritual ideas, which supply all our needs. Where material sense would have us yield to sorrow, we can find the joys of Spirit. Man's oneness with God is so complete and safe that, knowing this, our every need is met here and now. Our Leader has written (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 307): "Never ask for to-morrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment. What a glorious inheritance is given to us through the understanding of omnipresent Love! More we cannot ask: more we do not want: more we cannot have. This sweet assurance is the 'Peace, be still' to all human fears, to suffering of every sort."

A student of Christian Science once had a lovely experience of "a great calm," when after having passed through a difficult period of human loss, and intensive work of an international character, another and more severe test swept across her pathway, even as the storm swept across the Galilean lake. At this point, facing the heaviest gale yet encountered, the student turned unreservedly to divine Love. She knew there was no other way. To have sorrowed would only have increased the woe and suffering, progress would have been retarded, and others' problems intensified. She sought the help of a dear friend. Together they found the healing assurance that "neither death, nor life, ... nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God." The ever-present Father-Mother became nearer and dearer than ever before. Love which can experience only life, joy that cannot be turned into sorrow, and good that does not acknowledge any sense of evil, were among the thoughts dwelt upon. Quickly, within a few minutes, the healing came. A great peace entered and remained in the student's consciousness. From that time there was no sense of loss or sorrow, but only the unfoldment of good. The healing was permanent. A wider field of activity opened before her, and added joy and freedom were soon manifested.

Our expression of the power of Mind to heal depends on our calm spiritual development and the unfoldment of our conscious at-one-ment with divine Love, to which mortal conflicts are unknown. For "the secret place" of Love is ever at hand, where discord is replaced by harmony, and where we find peace and power which pass all human understanding. Out of the amplitude of her own rich experience our Leader writes in "Retrospection and Introspection" (p. 93), "The best spiritual type of Christly method for uplifting human thought and imparting divine Truth, is stationary power, stillness, and strength; and when this spiritual ideal is made our own, it becomes the model for human action."