Profitable Lessons

EDITH MARIE ZANDER

What beautiful lessons divine Love teaches! Humanity often characterizes as mistakes those experiences which teach us needed lessons. When one looks upon an experience only as a mistake, he is often faced with a sense of chagrin and remorse, regret and suffering. Let him transform the human thought of mistake into the better view of a lesson learned, and he will experience a flood of gratitude and heavenly joy. When one realizes the ever-presence of God's omnipotence and protection, throughout every experience, and constantly demonstrates it, he cannot help but express gratitude.

A young, inexperienced student of Christian Science once acted incorrectly in a challenging business situation. Soon after this, she read a narrative of another young woman who met a similar experience admirably. As the story unfolded, the student was almost overwhelmed by a sense of her own shortcomings and failure. She seemed crushed by a sense of remorse and loss due to an irretrievable mistake. Right then, in her moment of repentance and great need, divine Love was present to comfort and to bless. Humility had made room for the enlightenment of Truth, and an abiding sense of spiritual progress brought peace and strength. Gradually, all sense of a past mistake was dissolved. In its place was found the tender and comforting truth that God, divine Mind, cannot create or know a single mistake, while Principle, God, ever just and loving, is present to guide all who are teachable. The aroused consciousness, turning to Principle alone for right guidance, is aware of the truth of the Psalmist's rejoicing, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

Truly, as long as the student humbly seeks His love, God sustains him, and heavenly grace will thus be reflected in all the situations which he faces in daily life.

Not by mistakes but by heaven-bestowed enlightenment, acknowledged and gratefully accepted, are we lifted to realms of greater spirituality in which our motives, actions, and conduct express holiness, grace, sincerity, truth, and love. An undestroyed belief in mistakes tends to hamper the ability to apply an understanding of God's sweet mercies and support. God's ideas—the perfect manifestations of divine Mind—are never lacking in spiritual strength. As we work on this basis, no exigency can rob us of our heaven-bestowed moral courage and uprightness, or destroy our sense of true selfhood with all its joy, its freedom from fear of sin, mistakes, sickness, and death.

In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 5) Mrs. Eddy writes: "Sorrow for wrong-doing is but one step towards reform and the very easiest step. The next and great step required by wisdom is the test of our sincerity,—namely, reformation."

Having tasted the joy of reformation, progress, and spiritual advancement, the student of Christian Science knows that all humanity must ultimately realize the heavenly sense of protection from mistakes which an understanding of God, in Christian Science, bestows. There is always sufficient truth, courage, sincerity, and love for the right solution of every problem. Through right thinking all may know that for each seeming problem there is heavenly solution. So may we prove the truth of our Leader's beneficent words (ibid., p. 494), "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need."

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