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That Which Must Be Learned
In speaking of Jesus and the fierce ordeals which assailed him, Mary Baker Eddy has written, "Yet he swerved not, well knowing that to obey the divine order and trust God, saves retracing and traversing anew the path from sin to holiness" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 20). He who swerves in his trust and obedience to Principle, does so because he has not yet learned that the way out of every danger and the fears which accompany it, is to be found only in complete reliance on and submission to the divine will.
As, in the exercise of divine intelligence, men come to see that the supposititious claim of evil to be power, to terrorize, and to ensnare can be broken only by the might of Spirit, the purpose of the Christ-message and example will be fulfilled, and peace will reign universally in the hearts of men.
It is recorded in Matthew's Gospel that Jesus, before being tempted of the devil, was "led up of the spirit into the wilderness." The way whereby evil is proved powerless to benefit or harm the son of God, leads ever upward and in obedience to Truth. That which led Jesus upward, at the same time strengthened, preserved, and inspired him for the conflict with the enemy. The Christian Scientist, equipped with the knowledge that every argument offering relief or satisfaction in matter is powerless, will find Spirit leading him forward to victory. He too will learn that through trust and obedience comes understanding whereby is salvation from the reversals and defeats which are the experience of those who succumb to or parley with the arguments and suggestions denying God's allness. Evil that has been proved powerless can no longer torment and deceive. The refuge, often seemingly reasonable and advantageous, which error offers from the exactions of the hour, serves but to delay the vital issue, the true test of reliance and obedience. We can be assured that the temptations which beset Jesus in the wilderness ceased from thenceforward to present themselves as real to this ascending consciousness. Temptations sometimes small, sometimes great, gather momentum if unconquered. Fear indulged gradually masters its victim. No progress is ever accomplished which is not in the way of overcoming; this is the test of character, the assurance of that which is destined, in discipline and devotion, to bring enlightenment and salvation to the world.
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
November 4, 1939 issue
View Issue-
Fact and Fable
LOUISE KNIGHT WHEATLEY COOK
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The Way Out
GEORGE WELLS HOLLAND
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Tending His Vineyard
KATHERINE PUFFER
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"What went ye out into the wilderness to see?"
FLORENCE I. EDWARDS
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The Language of Science
ANNA STANTON LAY
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Education
HAROLD F. BENNETT
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God's Song
MARJORIE STALEY SANFORD
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At the Rochester Diocesan Conference, at Caxton Hall,...
Lt.-Col. Robert E. Key, District Manager of Committees on Publication for Great Britain and Ireland
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The coupling of Unity to Christian Science "as a sort of...
J. Simmons Davis, Committee on Publication for the State of Nebraska
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In a recent issue of Rogaland there appears an attack on...
Nils A. T. Lerche, Committee on Publication for Norway
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A résumé of a sermon that appeared in a recent issue...
Louis N. Denniston, Committee on Publication for the State of Connecticut
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Things of Importance
Duncan Sinclair
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That Which Must Be Learned
Evelyn F. Heywood
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The Lectures
with contributions from Thomas E. Hurley, Marie Baldy, Peter V. Ross, Florence S. Smith, Robert Stanley Ross, Elizabeth D. Bigheart, William Duncan Kilpatrick, Winifred Borsom, Hermann S. Hering, Annie Haug, Lucia C. Coulson, Norah D. Robson
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With a heart full of gratitude to God, to Christian Science,...
Julia E. Smith with contributions from Stella Smith Warner
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It is with a heart overflowing with joy that I write this...
Evelyn Thorburn
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It is with the desire to help others as I have been helped...
Olive M. Ziegler with contributions from Gordon L. Ziegler
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I began studying Christian Science in 1914, after the...
Minnie Cuthbertson
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I am profoundly grateful for Christian Science
Albert J. Altmeier
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It is with gratitude unbounded that I acknowledge the...
Rebecca E. Bedwell
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I am very thankful for the many blessings and healings...
Harry H. Waggoner
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Teach Me to Love
GRACE A. WARNER
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Signs of the Times
with contributions from Ralph C. Lankler, W. Harold Reid