Editorial January 18, 1941 Issue

Heaven at Hand

Alfred Pittman

Two women who were suffering from the same disease went together to a Christian Science practitioner. One had been a student of Christian Science for some time, and through her the other had just become interested in it. The practitioner did what they asked: stated and explained some of the fundamentals of Science. And at the close of the conversation, the one who had just begun to be interested in the subject found that she was healed, while the condition of the other remained unchanged.

It appeared, as the three considered the experience later, that the new student had believed that a treatment was being given by the practitioner—that something was being done for her at the time—while her friend had not. The more experienced student had considered that the practitioner was only talking about Science. Christian Scientists understand that such a difference of attitude might well have made the difference in results.

It is significant that in the teaching not only of John the Baptist but also of Jesus himself, great emphasis was laid on the fact that "the kingdom of heaven"—natural and illimitable good—"is at hand." It is always at hand by reason of the fact that good is infinite, all, and man forever one with all good; but the Master and his immediate forerunner knew that a distinguishing characteristic of the human mind is to believe that good in its fullness is not at hand, that more of it is to be found in some other time or place than that in which one seems to be. They saw that that was a characteristic of the human mind which needed especially to be overcome.

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