Article July 9, 1938 Issue

"They offered willingly"

GRACE SWENARTON

Christian Scientists are increasingly grateful for the unselfed love which enabled our inspired Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, to give to the world the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." As one studies this book and progresses in his understanding of Christian Science, learning more of God and of man in His likeness, the spiritual meaning of the Bible unfolds, and much that formerly seemed hard to understand becomes clear and fraught with great meaning.

Recently, while a student of Christian Science was working on the problem of supply in its relation to the branch church of which she was a member, two Scriptural narratives stood out with great significance. The first was the incident in which Cain and Abel brought their offerings unto the Lord. We read: "Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof." It is recorded that "the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect."

Why did one offering meet with respect, and the other, not? The answer is found in noting the types of thought which Cain and Abel represented. It evidently was not the offering which was judged, but the character of the one who offered it. Mrs. Eddy writes, referring to Cain, "Material in origin and sense, he brings a material offering to God;" Abel's offering, we read, "was a more spiritual type of even the human concept of Love than the herbs of the ground could be" (Science and Health, pp. 540, 541). The offering which was acceptable to the Lord typified the higher gift of unselfed devotion.

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