Who at one time or another has not been confronted with a problem of sickness or sin, or of business cares and worries, to the extent that he has yearned to see clearly the light which would guide him out of the difficulty? Such a one begins to realize what it means to thirst after health, purity, and harmony. The Word of God, through Isaiah, may then be heard: "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." Often, as one is thus athirst, he is led to partake of Christian Science, to realize in some degree his true selfhood and his relation to his Father-Mother God. Then to his great joy the problem no longer has the aspect of a mountain. Why? Because the sunshine of Truth entering consciousness has begun to dispel the darkness of false mortal belief. There has come a realization, even though faintly, of the truth which makes free.

How is the thirst for Truth to be quenched? What is it that can satisfy this longing or craving under all circumstances; and how is it to be obtained? Christ Jesus, the Way shower, answered this query for all time when he said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." As one halts in his indulgence of the belief or illusion that sickness, sin, or inactivity is real, and turns thought to the realization of that which is eternally true,—to Life, not sickness, Love, not sin, Mind producing right activity, not inactivity,—he is seeking the kingdom of God.

Continuing in the Master's word—seeking, yes striving, to understand God and His Christ, laying hold on Life, Truth, and Love, and realizing that man is the image and likeness of God—confers the benediction, "Then are ye my disciples indeed." This spiritual repast, this refreshment of right ideas, rewards the thirst after the things of Spirit, and one experiences a larger sense of freedom from the false beliefs that seem so real to the mystified mortal sense of existence.

To the woman of Samaria who came for water to Jacob's well, Christ Jesus said, "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." What is this "well of water springing up into everlasting life"? Certainly it is not anything the physical senses can perceive, for the promise stands that "whosoever drinketh" it "shall never thirst." This living water is the recognition of God, divine Mind, as the only creator and power, the source of all true being. To drink of this water of Life is to see and acknowledge that man reflects God, divine Mind, and that Christ, Truth, is the light which reveals true being, what the all-loving creator has brought forth, for "without him was not any thing made that was made." This water of Life is freely flowing for all here and now; and as we drink it, it will truly be to us "a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

The one who believes that he is sick or sinful, or has business cares or worries, thirsts after what? The so-called sick long to be well, to be relieved of their suffering. Having suffered sufficiently from belief in sin to see its falsity, the sinner begins to thirst after righteousness. The executive worried and concerned over his business, or the individual worried about his position, longs to be lifted out of mental turmoil, and to be able to say, These things do not disturb me. The invitation is then heard through Christian Science, "Come ye to the waters"—come into the realization of man's real spiritual being and his relation to God, omnipotent good.

As one who is sick accepts the invitation to "buy, and eat," the suggestion which would have him believe that sickness is real, that it is God's will and must be submitted to, that he is the victim of circumstance, that God is punishing him, is recognized as a lie, and rejected. This false belief is then replaced with the realization that God is Love, and that divine Love never causes suffering or discord of any kind. Perfect, infinite Love never changes, but is always protecting and guiding its ideas, always imparting and perpetuating harmony.

Through Christian Science the sinner is roused to see that gratification of the sinful beliefs of the physical senses confers no real joy or peace, but rather suffering, unhappiness, and unrest. God, divine Love, has made no provision for punishment of sin; but sin brings its own suffering. Therefore, mortals need only cease sinning in order to be freed from the resultant suffering.

To rise above the temptation to sin may sometimes require a mighty struggle. Temptation would have one go on dwelling in the belief that pleasure is to be found in materiality, that the mortal dream of having material desires satisfied means peace and happiness; but misery and suffering follow the indulgence of such false belief. As one turns away from these erroneous suggestions, and honestly and sincerely desires and endeavors to follow that which is right, pure, and wholesome, even in the turning he meets the shelter of omnipotent Love and Truth. The suggestion which would have one believe that error is true; that it is a part of real existence; that it confers such pleasure as not to be given up; and, finally, that it is unscientific to strive to overcome any phase of error—this suggestion is seen through Christian Science to be mortal self-justification.

Taking a firm stand for good and claiming man's God-given dominion over evil is using God's law, not so-called material law. It is reflecting and demonstrating right ideas. The will to do right reflects God's will, and the desire for righteousness starts one on the path of joy, peace, and dominion.

In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mary Baker Eddy writes (p. 1), "Desire is prayer." A definition of the word "desire" is "to require." A definition of "require" is "to claim as by right and authority." To claim "as by right and authority" true righteousness—that is, the spiritual ability to think and act rightly—is one of the first steps towards the overcoming of sin.

Man in the image and likeness of God, perfect, immutable divine Mind, is above sin and reflects good alone. To realize and claim "as by right and authority" one's true dominion is to rise in the realm of spirituality, the realm of right thinking about God, man, and the universe. As thought rises, the clouds of sense disappear, prayer is fulfilled, and spiritual thirst is quenched with the water of Life.

As he looks to Christian Science to solve his problems, the business-man must of necessity grasp in some degree what the Master, Christ Jesus, meant when he said, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?"

How did Christ Jesus go about his Father's business? What was his daily occupation, his activity, his service? He continually went from place to place preaching the gospel, accomplishing the healing of sickness and sin, and on several occasions raising the dead. He was engaged in obeying the law of Life, Truth, and Love. Divine Mind was the treasury that supplied him with right ideas in unlimited measure. Jesus' instruction stands for all time: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." As the student of Christian Science so detaches error from any individual or group of individuals as to perceive the real in place of what would set itself up as true, the gospel is preached, the unerring law of Truth is stated, and divine Principle is established in consciousness: he is then about the Father's business.

To hold thought to the enduring fact that God's attributes, including wisdom, intelligence, activity, justice, mercy, goodness, faithfulness, are expressed through man, means to overcome any phase of error.

Divine Love is ever present to lead one out of any false sense of difficulty. The beliefs of sin, sickness, and worry melt into nothingness as one listens to the voice of Love, Truth, Life, Principle, and obeys divine law. One then realizes in some measure what our beloved Leader meant when she wrote (ibid., p. 13): "Love is impartial and universal in its adaptation and bestowals. It is the open fount which cries, 'Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.' "