Editorial June 28, 1947 Issue

"O man greatly beloved"

L. Ivimy Gwalter

When Daniel was prostrated with despair, the Bible tells us, an angel came to him bearing the message (Dan. 10:19), "O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong." Today the Christ, Truth, as revealed in Christian Science is heralding the same message to a perplexed and war-weary world.

Daniel was of the tribe of Judah, which had been carried away captive into Babylon. The world was seething with unrest; one captivity followed close upon another. Nowhere was there security or peace. Through it all the figure of Daniel stands out as a tower of strength. His unswerving obedience to God made him a pattern of righteousness and wisdom. Through this obedience he gained favor with his captors and rose to a position of authority in the land. He witnessed the power of God deliver his three friends from the fiery furnace; he himself was delivered from the lions. He saw the magicians confuted and error proved powerless. Yet there came a day when the mesmerism of discouragement, weariness, loneliness, and apprehension well-nigh overwhelmed him. He fasted for three weeks, but finally fell into a deep sleep with his face to the ground. Nowhere in this dream of error did there seem a ray of light. And then the angel roused him. He rose to his knees; then he stood upright in the fullness of that promise, "O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong."

This picture of ancient times is not very different from the troublous picture of the world today. The adage that history repeats itself is obvious when it is understood that human history is but the record of mortal mind's dreams, its own dark images, existing nowhere but in that so-called mind, and mortal mind by reason of its finite nature cannot do other than repeat itself.

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