Article January 18, 1936 Issue

Until the Harvest

EYRE SANDFORD CARTER

In explaining to his disciples the parable of the tares and the wheat, as recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew's Gospel, Christ Jesus told them that the harvest symbolized "the end of the world." This phrase has been taken as synonymous with "the day of judgment," and Christian denominations generally have assumed that at some point in future time all mankind would suddenly be called to judgment, and all things material would simultaneously pass away. This assumption, however, has been corrected by Mary Baker Eddy, who writes on page 291 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," "No final judgment awaits mortals, for the judgment-day of wisdom comes hourly and continually, even the judgment by which mortal man is divested of all material error."

This statement is confirmed by everyday experience. Not a moment passes that does not summon us to a judgment of some sort. Whether we are reading a newspaper, glancing at a billboard advertisement, listening to a friend's conversation, or ourselves thinking out some problem, we are constantly faced with the necessity of weighing and correctly valuing the notions and ideas which present themselves to us. This task demands "wisdom," and the more consciously we reflect that divine quality the more quickly and accurately we discern the difference between the tares and the wheat, between the menacing or attractive suggestions of human belief and the trustworthy guidance of spiritual understanding derived from the divine Mind.

Discerning the difference is the first step, and the parable shows us that further growth brings the utter destruction of all that is evil, debased, untrue, or inharmonious—and this includes the thought of sickness equally with that of sin.

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