Article March 6, 1937 Issue

The Meaning of Life

[Original article in German]

HERMANN GOTTSCHALK

For the Christian Scientist the meaning of life lies in the endeavor to realize the divine perfection of God and man. The Master's command, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect," is his rule of conduct in life. In his striving he holds to all that is joyous, desirable, and beneficent, all that one has a right to claim from his heavenly Father. And good is received at all times in exact proportion to his adherence to the divine standard.

From this it follows that misfortune and sorrow appear because men do not conform to the divine standard, because they lack the desire to seek the meaning of life which reflects God, who alone is Life. The divine standard is the way of Truth. It is straight and narrow. But whoever has once found this way will allow nothing to mislead him into seeking the meaning of life elsewhere. His whole desire is to magnify continually the great certainties of joyous spiritual being.

When we consider the general distress with which the world seems to be faced, its confusion and helplessness, we know that the supposititious cause is always the same, namely, devitation from Truth. There is but one real Being, God, who is Truth and Life. Then every departure from Truth springs from the belief that existence or life is material and has no real or spiritual meaning. What is the result of this erroneous belief? Not discerning the truth, men have set up numerous material demands based on the self-deception of the material senses. Because they do not comprehend the demands of Truth, and because they yield to error instead of seeking spiritual harmony and order, there is continual confusion.

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Reflecting God
March 6, 1937
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