Article May 7, 1938 Issue

"The Lord preserveth the strangers"

JOHN M. LADE

In reference to the declaration in the twenty-third Psalm, "The Lord is my shepherd," the spiritual interpretation of "the Lord" is given as "DIVINE LOVE" by Mary Baker Eddy in her textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 578).

Christian Science has everything to offer to those who find themselves without country, home, or friends as a result of the upheavals now apparent in the material world. Many know that their need is met when they attend their first Christian Science service or testimony meeting and, though they may not find words to express the comfort received, they may be struck by this sentence from page 494 of Science and Health which is often reproduced on the walls of Christian Science churches: "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need."

A sense of homelessness is not confined to those who have suffered material loss, however. A young student of Christian Science who had lived and worked for a few years in a big city was troubled by self-pity because of lack of a home of his own, and the poor prospect of obtaining one to his liking, owing to slow progress and the handicap of responsibilities. One day he recollected the closing words of the chapter entitled "Footsteps of Truth" in the Christian Science textbook (p. 254): "Pilgrim on earth, thy home is heaven; stranger, thou art the guest of God." The student awoke to the realization that in seeking his home in matter he had been looking in the wrong direction. The real man is no pilgrim, but has his eternal home in the unspeakable bliss of heaven. He could no more escape from its comfort and peace than he could infringe upon the omnipresence of Soul. God.

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