Article July 31, 1948 Issue

"WE OWN NO PAST"

FREDERIC E. EARLE

Fortunate , indeed, is the individual who can look on his past and have no regrets. But how often the reverse is the case! We wish we had done differently, had used more wisdom, more kindness, been more alert and obedient to duty. How we should like to undo some of our past performances, if only past events did not seem so irrevocable!

However, this does not have to be. By giving men a correct understanding of God and His creation, Christian Science shows how the sting can be taken out of unhappy past experiences. It removes the false belief that whatever time has fixed on its calendar can never be erased, or that some evil, ugly picture can never be superseded by a better one.

Jesus had this understanding and used it successfully in overcoming both the sickness and the death of Lazarus, whom he loved, as recounted in the eleventh chapter of John. That Jesus did not fear dire results if time were allowed to elapse is shown in the fact that "he abode two days still in the same place where he was." Nor did the apparent serious nature of the case escape Jesus, for he said plainly to his disciples, "Lazarus is dead." Both Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus, felt that the case was hopeless because of the passage of time. On his arrival, "Mary sat still in the house," not having enough hope to go to meet Jesus. Martha's belief in the irrevocable nature of the time element is expressed in her words to the Master, "He hath been dead four days."

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