"Father, I thank thee"

KATHLEEN O'CONNOR

Gratitude to God, expressed by the spiritually-minded in all ages, is more than a pious sentiment; it is a necessity of our well-being, for it is the acknowledgement of our dependence on God, an affirmation of our unity with our Maker. True gratitude is a constant attitude of receptivity, by which we become increasingly aware of the rich blessings that God bestows on His children. It is, moreover, an active uplifting of our consciousness to the one source, divine Mind, whereby we let our light shine for the benefit of others.

Christian Science teaches that God is the only Mind, and that man is the idea or reflection of Mind. In speaking of "the formations of the immortal divine Mind," Mrs. Eddy writes (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 189), "they proceed from the divine source; and so, in tracing them, we constantly ascend in infinite being."

There is much rendering of thanks to God in the Wednesday testimony meetings in Christian Science churches throughout the world, much gratitude expressed for healing, for helpful experiences and spiritual enlightenment. For the sake of our own spiritual growth, for the blessing it brings to our fellow men, and above all because such expressions of gratitude glorify God, these testimonies are given in our churches and our periodicals, because, as our beloved Leader says in the Church Manual (Art. VIII, Sect. 24): "Testimony in regard to the healing of the sick is highly important. More than a mere rehearsal of blessings, it scales the pinnacle of praise and illustrates the demonstration of Christ, 'who health all thy diseases' (Psalm 103:3)."

The giving of thanks to God for His ever-present goodness renders thought receptive of the resources of the divine Mind, which are always available, and ensures against the reactions or reversals so often experienced by mankind. Gratitude, being closely allied to humility, unselfed love, and joy, is a sure protection against pride and the many pitfalls which accompany it. When pride of accomplishment gives place to humble gratitude to the Giver of every good and perfect gift, the ability to express these gifts in constructive work will be lifted above the limitations of material sense, and will be seen as the expression of the one intelligence. Inspiration thus is recognized as instantly and constantly available, because derived from the everpresent Mind.

On coming into Christian Science the writer was not long in discovering that the belief of so-called artistic temperament, with its alternating phases of elation and depression, was merely a cloak for self-centeredness, an unstable sense of personal authorship and its consequent emotions and reactions. For several days she had been unable to rise above a sense of depression, and she reached out to God for some healing message. All that came to her thought was the one word "gratitude." Not feeling particularly grateful, she turned again to God and listened once more for the "still small voice" of Truth. Again the word "gratitude" seemed to be gently whispered into her thought. Then she realized that this was indeed God's message of healing for her. "Thank God," she said, "for home, for friends, for church, for Mrs. Eddy, for Christian Science, for Life, and Truth, and Love!" And so she poured forth a simple paean of praise and gratitude to God. The illusion or mesmerism of depression was broken then and there. Gratitude to God for even a human sense of beauty, bounty, and blessing may be made the steppingstone to a recognition of the glory of God and of His spiritual universe.

Of old, when the children of Israel were dismayed by the armies of the enemies, Jehoshaphat "appointed singers unto the Lord ... that should praise the beauty of holiness, ... and when they began to sing and to praise," the enemies were self-destroyed. Indeed, no false belief can long find lodgment in a truly grateful heart.

A grateful heart is open to receive the healing truth, and effectively to draw upon the infinite resources and capacities of the one Mind. Moreover, the grateful one will be honest in giving all the glory to God when the healing is realized, knowing that the power of God is constantly available. But the great Master did not stop there; he expressed gratitude to God before the healing was apparent to human sense. In his prayer of praise at the tomb of Lazarus, he said: "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me." Christ Jesus reached out to God in prayer, for the sake of the people around him, including Lazarus, whom he was about to raise from the dead, recognizing the infinite resources of Soul, expressed by man as the son of God, and thus proving his unity with the ever-present Mind, the Mind that answers all true prayer.

Mrs. Eddy says on page 3 of Science and Health: "Gratitude is much more than a verbal expression of thanks. Action expresses more gratitude than speech." Tracing every blessing, talent, and spiritual thought to its source, divine Mind, glorifies God, and makes "each loving life a psalm of gratitude."

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The Healing Point of View

July 20, 1940

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