Article December 20, 1947 Issue

LEARN OF RADIANT ZEAL!

DOUGLAS ROBERTS

The Gospel of John relates that Jesus went up to Jerusalem at the time of the passover and that, seeing the outer court of the temple being used much as a common market for the sale of cattle and doves and the changing of money, he made a whip of cords and drove the merchants, oxen, and sheep out of the temple and overturned the tables of money. He said to the dove sellers (John 2:16), "Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise." And the account continues, "His disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up."

Zeal is defined in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy (p. 599): "The reflected animation of Life, Truth, and Love. Blind enthusiasm; mortal will." Here are set forth the true, spiritual zeal as exemplified by Christ Jesus and the opposite mortal concept, the stimulus of will power. The alert Christian Scientist has no difficulty in differentiating between the two in daily experience. And blessed is the church whose membership includes many who in humility and understanding are zealous workers. Such workers never mark time, but quietly and fervently press forward, translating into human action the pure thoughts of God.

Since Jesus was our great Exemplar, did not his cleansing of the temple illustrate the necessity for each one of us to express the same zeal and cleanse his house or consciousness of all that defiles his worship of God, Spirit, and dims his vision of the Christ? Only through like vigorous activity are we enabled to drive out of our hearts the greed, lust, tyranny, envy, apathy, and pride which are the enemies of true zeal. If we are faithful to our vision of Truth, then indeed will our consciousness become a house of prayer in which we may entertain angels, or spiritual ideas and intuitions.

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