Article December 5, 1959 Issue

SPIRITUAL GIFTS

AUDREY S. HILLIKER

At the Christmas season the thought of many persons is turned to the giving of gifts to friends, relatives, and business acquaintances. Sometimes, however, a feeling of pressure and hurry takes possession of thought, and the beautiful meaning of the Christmas message is almost lost.

Each year before starting out to do her Christmas shopping, one student of Christian Science finds it helpful to spend some time in the contemplation of the meaning of spiritual gifts. The unfoldment which came to her the first year she did this, and which has increased in subsequent years, came partly from reading the references to Christmas in the writings of Mary Baker Eddy. Helpful articles were also found in the current issues of the Christian Science periodicals.

She pondered as well what the Apostle Paul wrote about spiritual gifts in one of his epistles. Wisdom, knowledge, faith, and healing are mentioned among these gifts, but not one material thing is included. Paul very properly advised the Corinthians to "covet earnestly the best gifts" (I Cor. 12:31). The beautiful and familiar chapter on charity follows; here he points out that all gifts are worthless without love.

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