A warm , steady glow of joy. I noticed it in the early morning. Joy is something we'd all like to feel each day. Sometimes, though, it can seem quite out of reach. The world isn't always a happy place. But this particular morning seemed filled with joy. And as the day progressed, I asked myself how I could account for what I was feeling—and how each one of us might have joy, and keep it.

The joy I felt wasn't because of any notable event that was taking place. Joy that depends on events can sometimes vanish into thin air with the winds of change, even with a single shift in the direction of well-laid human plans. But that morning's joy wasn't fragile. It stayed with me throughout the entire demanding day. In fact, it welled up even more prominently when problems surfaced. It was the joy of knowing the love of God and of looking forward to expressing God's love in the day's activities. No circumstance could possibly deprive me of that.

The love of God is always present because God is always present. God is Love—infinite Love—filling all space. Joy is built into the very nature of divine Love (our creator) and of Love's expression, man (our actual being and individuality), forever. So, in living God's love, we find joy that can never be taken away; the opportunity to express the love of God is as ever present as Love it-self. To top it off, the expression of divine Love brings healing into human lives. What more could anyone ask for?

What especially warms the heart about living to express the healing love of God is the unselfishness of such a purpose. There's no vainglory involved. It's like having a wonderful secret (one everyone can have)—a heart quietly uniting with the Love that embraces and blesses everyone. When we commune with God in prayer to open our thought to His pure and perfect nature and to seek His guidance, we feel as the Psalmist did when he confided in God: "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy" (Ps. 16:11). This moves us forward to follow God's direction in our daily life, knowing that in doing so we are helping others to feel His love tangibly.

Christ Jesus keenly felt the joy of living God's purpose for man—of living to love. He wanted us to feel it, too. He said: "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (John 15:10, 11). Surely there couldn't be any more joyous way to celebrate the coming of Christ, Truth, to the world than to adopt Jesus' selfless purpose as our own from day to day, living to love in the way he loved.

We are never without the opportunity to express Christly love in our hearts, thoughts, words, and deeds. Should misunderstanding of your motives on someone's part threaten to steal your joy, you can love. You can cherish the love of God in your heart and reflect it in your thoughts and actions. Healing will come. Should you be faced with physical infirmity, you can love. You can yield to the all-power of divine Love and be faithful to it. You'll be healed. The joy is in the loving. Healing is the natural result.

People and circumstances don't have to change so that we can be happier. The joy of Christ already reigns in our hearts. We discover it in the unselfed expression of divine Love, which heals. As Mary Baker Eddy says, "Christians rejoice in secret beauty and bounty, hidden from the world, but known to God" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 15). We can take joy in this bounty today, and every day.

Barbara M. Vining

PSALMS

Let all those that put their trust in
thee rejoice: let them ever shout for
joy, because thou defendest them: let
them also that love thy name be joyful
in thee. For thou, Lord, wilt bless
the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him
as with a shield.

Psalms 5:11, 12