The meek Nazarene demonstrated the law of Love. The proof of the Truth he revealed lies in the work he accomplished. His existence was the living embodiment of Love. His teaching was practical and susceptible of proof, as seen by his achievements. A continual contemplation of his words, the pathos of his life, the injustice he received, and the persecution he suffered, results frequently in ecstatic emotion, sometimes mistaken for spirituality, but far removed from it. Becoming rapt in adoration of the man Jesus, losing sight of the Christ-Truth he reflected, does not solve the problem of Being, nor enable one to do the works he did. The Truth he proclaimed was the revelation of God with us as the divine Principle of existence,—all-inclusive, all-embracing,—the kingdom of heaven at hand, available to all who choose to enter therein.

These were the glad tidings his life attested, and he promised that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled; those who seek shall find; and those who strive shall attain. Expecting to benefit by another's life and works, effort and sacrifice, will end in disappointment and despair. Sooner or later each must realize his own responsibility if he would gain the fulfilment of the glorious promises of our great Master. What could be more sublime than their fulfilment? Worldly success, place, and power, pale into insignificance, for such are but the transitory vaporings of worldliness, compared with the substantial realities of spirituality.

Consider Jesus' life and works; his power; his healing; his purity, meekness, and gentleness; his calm amid the seething discord of error; his uniform sweetness and light; his tender compassion, kindness, and love. All the turmoil of mortal mind could not ruffle his tranquillity. Cruel indignities and insults provoked no retaliation. Ingratitude and persecution beat relentlessly upon him, yet "opened he not his mouth." All the forces of this world could not prevail against the power of divine Love. He stood, and still stands, as the highest earthly representative of divine Love, demonstrating the inseparable unity of God and man, as Principle and idea, and forever establishing the superiority and might of Truth over all error.

To emulate him, mortals must become as little children, unburden their beliefs, materialistic intellectuality, preconceived notions, pride of opinion, and selfishness. The old Mosaic law of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, with its corollated law of retaliation,—a blow for a blow, scorn for scorn,—has yet to give place to the law of Love, ere the demonstrations of Jesus become practical. Pride spurns meekness, mistaking it for weakness, yet the promise is that the meek shall inherit the earth. Envy, malice, and revenge occupy the place of love, gentleness, and mercy, yet it is recorded, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." Selfishness, self-seeking, and covetousness leave no room for kindness or generosity, yet a cup of cold water given in his name shall not be unrewarded. Sensualism and sin seem triumphant, yet it is declared, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." These solemn words, words which shall not pass away till all be fulfilled, cannot be ignored nor lightly discarded. They were given for practical use, for everyday application, and until thus applied, mortals will continue to grope blindly, continue to believe evil a power, selfishness a necessity, sickness and sin irresistible, and death inevitable.

Most people, while not questioning the soundness of Jesus' teaching, consider it impracticable in this age, and the centuries have rolled on in ignorance of the Science which makes his words and works practical. In the fulness of time, one whose exceptional life, purity, and goodness had specially fitted her for the revelation, discovered this Science, reduced it to a system, and gave it forth to the world in her inspired text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." She, Mary Baker G. Eddy, one of earth's noblest and best, when in the twilight of the border-land, caught a glimpse of the true Light, which resuscitated her, and afterwards enabled her to declare the Principle of existence and the Truth of Being. She called her discovery Christian Science, and since its discovery it has been amply tested and not found wanting. It makes practical that which has hitherto been considered visionary and transcendental, and enlightens man as to who and what he is, and his relationship to his Creator. This understanding is followed, as was promised, by signs and wonders. The world will yet unreservedly acknowledge its deep debt of gratitude to her who alone, amidst the maelstrom of mortal mind, was not sucked into its vortex nor overcome by its tumult, but ever steadfast at her God-appointed post of duty, guided by Wisdom and Truth, reached the haven of divine Love, to proclaim to a weary world her momentous discovery for the benefit of all mankind.

Christian Science is the loadstar to eternal life, harmony, peace, health, and holiness. To imbibe its Spirit is to become Christ-like; to adhere to its rules, is to attain the power to do the works Jesus did, and to live the life he lived. It commences with the first commandment, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind," followed by a second of equal importance, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," and it shows how and why these commands are to be obeyed. It also makes Jesus' teaching applicable to every-day life.

Christian Science reveals God as the one and only Cause. Creator, and Intelligence of the Universe.

God is Good, and He made all that was made and made it good. In Good there is no evil, nor can evil emanate from Good, or form any part of His creation, for God is All-in-all. Evil, then, not being in or of Good, is consequently an illusion, existing only in contemplation, not in reality; having no substance or inherent power of its own. for Omnipotence is indivisible, and Omnipresence is never absent.

Man, made in the image and likeness of his Creator,—Spirit,—partakes of His constituent qualities and is spiritual, good, and perfect; co-existent with and inseparable from Him, having no life, mind, or intelligence of his own. He is not dependent upon or sustained by aught else than God, the divine Principle of his being. Error urges that man is physical, an independent entity, a self or something apart from God. Truth declares that God and His idea—man—are the only realities. Man reflects only the good and true, the real and eternal, and whatsoever evil appears, is not reflection, does not emanate from God, and must be false and illusive.

As man reflects Life, Truth, and Love, he shows forth his God-likeness, and his unlikeness to the creature of error. Man lives in Mind, not matter, and thus can say with St. Paul. "In Him we live, and move, and have our being." Living in body instead of Soul; in matter instead of Mind; ascribing Intelligence to non-intelligence, Substance to shadow, Truth to error, leads to bondage and servitude, wherein man is believed to be mortal and material, unrealities seem real, and sin, sickness, and death appear to be actualities. This mortal material falsity misnamed man,—the counterfeit of God's man,—is neither the offspring of the one and only Cause and Creator, nor sustained by Him, but possesses all the elements of self-destruction; whereas man, the idea of the Infinite God, being sustained by Him, is indestructible and eternal. This is the teaching of the Christian Science text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures."

Thus Christian Science, separating the real from the unreal, Truth from error, reveals the indissoluble unity of God and man, establishes the brotherhood of man and the universal Fatherhood of God,—ever-present Life, Truth, Love.