Article November 27, 1937 Issue

"Our gratitude is riches"

INA PALMER GENTRY

Genuine gratitude is not inflated optimism or mere emotional ecstasy, but is the natural outcome of an unfaltering faith in God's great love and mercy. This gratitude is the normal sequence of one's spiritual realization of his true heritage as a son of God, and this realization is gained through the earnest study and application of Christian Science. The student finds in genuine gratitude a wealth of courage, stability, peace, and the richness of humility, sweetness, and selflessness.

Every sincere student of this Science aspires so to use his understanding of God and His infinite goodness that all with whom he comes in contact may be led thereby to seek and find the truth which meets every human need. The student will be successful in proportion to his faithfulness in keeping his consciousness uplifted with unalloyed love and gratitude. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, gives a concise statement concerning gratitude in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 164), where she says, "What is gratitude but a powerful camera obscura, a thing focusing light where love, memory, and all within the human heart is present to manifest light."

The frequent question, "Why are Christian Scientists so happy?" has but one answer. They have found the way—the way out of sickness, strife, sorrow, poverty, sin, and many other ills that seem to beset human existence. This way is leading them into the haven of peace, health, and security. They are in a measure daily proving that they are "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." Their rich gratitude is expressed through untiring service in church activities, in their loving efforts to help those in need, and in their conversation. They are step by step realizing "the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God."

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