Article June 13, 1936 Issue

"Man's eternal mansion"

RUBY M. APPEL

What could afford more comforting assurance, more warmth of feeling, more tenderness, more awakened memories, than the sacred word "home"? So near and dear to the heart of mankind has been the thought of home, that the word has been immortalized in poem, prose, and song. But always there has been an earnest longing in the hearts of men for a higher and truer concept of home, as spiritual and permanent. Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, is assured of immortality when he speaks of "a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."

Christian Scientists cherish every beautiful thought Mrs. Eddy has given them concerning home, and the following passage is one much loved and frequently quoted: "Pilgrim on earth, thy home is heaven; stranger, thou art the guest of God" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 254). Here "heaven" and "home" are shown to be synonymous. In the light of Christian Science, Christ Jesus' words, "The kingdom of God is within you," reveal the fact that heaven is a divine state of consciousness. Then home, like heaven, is the consciousness of divine Love alone, "within no walls confined." Christian Science further reveals that the real man dwells in the consciousness of Truth and Love, his home, now and forever, and that he can never be outside this home, for God's idea cannot be separated from God. Therefore, our first need is the need of attaining this divine consciousness. Truly one of the most beautiful experiences that can ever come to us is the awakening to the true understanding of home.

It was the writer's privilege to hear a beautiful testimony that indicated spiritual awakening and, as a consequence, brought complete freedom from homesickness. The speaker said that after her marriage, which necessitated her leaving her home town, she would frequently return to visit her parents, feeling that this was essential to her happiness and well-being. But one day after taking up the study of Christian Science, she was telling an older and more experienced worker how very necessary it was for her to make these trips, for on several occasions, when unable to go, she had become physically ill from homesickness. She concluded her remarks with this statement, "Well, it's about time for me to go home again!" The friend to whom she was talking looked at her compassionately, and in a quiet, tender voice said, "Why, child, heaven is your home, and it is here now, right where you are." The spiritual understanding that a child of God could never be separated from her real home, instantaneously healed the sense of homesickness.

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