Article December 22, 1951 Issue

"LOVE IS THE WAY ALWAY"

MARGARET ELIZABETH WAGG

A Young woman, a student of Christian Science from the United States, visited Switzerland. Before climbing her first mountain in the Alps the guide told her, "Follow in the footsteps." As they climbed in snow he continued to remind her, "Follow in the footsteps." The path in the snow was actually made by the guide step by step as he progressed forward. She did fairly well until they were coming down by way of a large glacier. No longer was she careful to follow the guide's admonition; she put her foot down slightly outside the footstep. Immediately the snow parted. The young woman found herself dangling in a huge crevice with the rope tied to her waist. Instead of giving sympathy the guide merely said, "Mademoiselle, if you had followed in the footsteps, this would have never happened." He pulled her out, and they continued.

Later this student thought of the meaning for her that lay behind this incident. Since the subject of the Lesson-Sermon from the Christian Science Quarterly for that particular week was "Christ Jesus," she asked herself, "What are the footsteps of Jesus in which we should follow if we don't want to be found dangling?" Forcibly came the following answer to her from "Rudimental Divine Science" by Mary Baker Eddy (p. 17): "Meekness, selflessness, and love are the paths of His testimony and the footsteps of His flock." Later she gave earnest thought to these three-words: meekness, selflessness, and love.

In the Bible we learn that the meek, those who are gentle and kind, "inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5). In Paul's epistle to Titus we find this counsel (3:2): "Speak evil of no man, ... be ... gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men." In other words, we are to, utter no evil about our brother, but rather must be willing to serve the Father in His way of love, at His direction.

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