Article September 10, 1966 Issue

"Rejoice in tribulation"

NANA WOLAVER

Mrs. Eddy counseled her followers to "rejoice in tribulation." She said. " 'Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth;' therefore rejoice in tribulation, and welcome these spiritual signs of the new birth under the law and gospel of Christ. Truth." Miscellaneous Writings, p. 18: Rejoicing in tribulation is something quite contrary to the world's ways.

However, Christian Science teaches us to depart from many of the world's ways. It shows that material situations have no more reality than the dreams we have at night. The latter seem very real, but upon awakening, we find they never were true. Thus whatever material problem presents itself, we can start solving it by rejoicing in the fact that though it seems to human consciousness very real, in divine consciousness, which is God's likeness, it has no reality. Armed with this joyous conviction, we can face our problems not only to work them out but to gain a higher understanding of God's allness and matter's nothingness.

To be unhappy because one has a problem to solve shows that one is believing the picture in the material senses to be real. This state of consciousness interferes with healing. It prevents success in solving the problem. Mrs. Eddy tells us in the textbook, Science and Health: "Admit the existence of matter, and you admit that mortality (and therefore disease) has a foundation in fact. Deny the existence of matter, and you can destroy the belief in material conditions." Science and Health, p. 368: Christian Scientists deny the existence of matter by rejoicing in the allness of Spirit, or God. Thus they can overcome erroneous material conditions.

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