Article October 20, 1951 Issue

FRIENDSHIP CANNOT BE LOST

EDNA A. WHITEMAN

Friendship is generally desired and highly valued. That true friendship is a blessing for which we should be grateful is made clear by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, on page 339 of "Miscellaneous Writings," where she asks, "Hast thou a friend, and forgettest to be grateful?" Nevertheless, in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" she says (p. 266): "Would existence without personal friends be to you a blank? Then the time will come when you will be solitary, left without sympathy; but this seeming vacuum is already filled with divine Love. When this hour of development comes, even if you cling to a sense of personal joys, spiritual Love will force you to accept what best promotes your growth. Friends will betray and enemies will slander, until the lesson is sufficient to exalt you; for 'man's extremity is God's opportunity.'" And she adds, "Universal Love is the divine way in Christian Science."

The word personal, appearing twice in this quotation, causes us to consider how we look upon friendship. Do we look upon it as a relationship between mortal personalities. between two or more minds? Do we lean upon it for personal happiness? Do we depend upon personal friends or personal opinions rather than upon the ever-presence of God, the one perfect Mind, for guidance in making important decisions? Do we see friendship as something that belongs to some, but does not belong to others?

When we give responsive attention to the loving words of the Leader of the Christian Science movement, it becomes clear to us that sooner or later we must impersonalize and spiritualize our concept of friendship, and that the best time for us to begin is now.

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