For the Lesson titled “Truth” from January 20 - 26, 2014
Sincere seeking—and finding
Fervent: Burning, ardent, earnest
Habitual: Formed by habit, customary, steady, perpetual, constant
Desire: Longing, wanting with earnestness, craving
Strong words! And how they help present a key that unlocks the treasures of “Truth,” the topic of this week’s Christian Science Bible Lesson. Here’s the key provided by Mary Baker Eddy in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “... prayer, coupled with a fervent habitual desire to know and do the will of God, will bring us into all Truth” (p. 11, citation 7). Jeremiah puts it this way: “Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13, cit. 2). Such sincere seeking for God, Truth, brings wonderful revelations of God’s presence guiding us, lifting our aims, bringing healing and the ability to heal, giving courage and a life of freedom.
Daniel was a fervent habitual seeker of God’s will. In Section 2 of the Lesson (see Daniel 9 and 10, cits. 8 and 9), we see him earnestly praying for the restoration of Israel during its exile in Babylon. Before he’d even finished asking forgiveness for his people’s rebellious ways, he felt the presence of angels—“pure thoughts from God” (Science and Health, p. 298, cit. 8). The angel Gabriel brought insight and understanding. And when fear and weakness overtook Daniel, he was given spiritual strength and the assurance of continued support by the angel Michael.
Jesus’ parable in Section 3 clarifies that fervency alone isn’t the key to finding Truth and the freedom it brings. The self-centered, disdainful Pharisee fervently declared his piety in material acts of worship. Yet it was the humble realization of his need for redemption that brought to the publican (tax collector) Jesus’ observation: “This man went down to his house justified [rendered innocent or righteous] rather than the other” (Luke 18:14, cit. 12).
What an example of seeking and finding we have in Section 5 (see Acts 3:1–9, cit. 19). Lame from birth, so incapacitated he had to be carried, the man sitting at the temple gate would have been considered incurable. As a beggar, he was certainly seeking, but he didn’t realize it was actually Truth he was seeking. Don’t you love his expectancy when Peter commands his attention? And when Peter tells him, in the name of Jesus Christ, to rise and walk, the man doesn’t say: “I can’t walk. Don’t you see I’m an invalid?” He is willing to be lifted by the truth Peter sees so clearly. And because he’s no longer lame, Jewish law permits him to enter the temple!
Watching Jesus’ followers in Sections 6 and 7, it’s clear they’ve spent years fervently seeking to understand and demonstrate the truth of being. The courage displayed when they go right back to teaching and healing after having been thrown into prison and then beaten (see Acts 5:40) is explained by their words, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29, cit. 20), and also by this assurance in Science and Health: “When the spiritual sense of Truth unfolds its harmonies, you take no risks in the policy of error” (p. 452, cit. 25).
The phrases in Section 7 about God’s children walking in truth, walking at liberty, walking in the light (see II John 1:4, cit. 22; Psalms 119:45, cit. 23; Science and Health, p. 510, cit. 29) refer to that “fervent habitual desire to know and do the will of God [that] bring[s] us into all Truth.” And the result of such a walk: “Truth makes man free” (Science and Health, p. 225, cit. 30).
