Article October 14, 1939 Issue

Joy and Gratitude Inseparable

AMANDA COLBATH

Joy and gratitude go hand in hand, and they cannot be separated. Where we find one, we find the other. Joy is an indispensable quality in the returning of thanks to God for all good. The giving of thanks to God is simplified in Christian Science, for as we gain an understanding of God we no longer measure our gratitude according to the material things which we may possess. Rather are we grateful for the true ideas which come from God, and through which is given supply for human needs.

We can always be grateful for Life, Truth, and Love, whence flow all true ideas to harmonize material conditions and solve our problems. In the Scriptures is given the assurance, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." God's "good" gift is always perfect. Right ideas appear with the incoming light of Truth.

A young student of Christian Science found herself at the point of consummation of a legitimate business project. She had found joy and satisfaction in realizing that substance is spiritual, not material, as taught in Christian Science. And to her surprise she did not find any added pleasure when the project was completed. Not until years later did she understand this seeming lack of what the human mind termed gratitude.

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