Love Overcomes Evil

Caroline Loring

Since coming into a slight understanding of what Christian Science is, the great good it is accomplishing in raising men above self into a desire for holiness and the understanding of how to obtain it, as well as a willingness to forsake all else in the search for it; into an understanding, although slight as yet, of what it means to be worthy the name Christian Scientist, of the earnest, consecrated, watchful, persistent effort necessary in order to keep one's face Godward, and to help instead of hinder our fellow-man in his march, it has been my desire at no time to let a word or thought of criticism pass my lips or dwell in consciousness, remembering Jesus' words, "Judge not, that ye be not judged."

Ofttimes I seemed to fail, and one of the most persistent arguments suggesting itself as an excuse has been that some one else, who seemed not to see the importance of making an unreality of error, asserting itself through others, was the cause; that this was the surrounding atmosphere, and, while not voicing the error myself, I could not prevent being more or less touched by it.

Gradually, however, has come this recognition: that the friends for whom I had a genuine affection were not long criticised in my presence. Perhaps nothing was said to stop the error, but the love in my heart for them left no room for any response to the unkind words that were voiced, and sooner or later these criticisms ceased to be voiced.

Thinking it over and trying to learn the lesson it would teach, I came to see that we cannot hope to advance nearer to the realization of God's presence until we learn to love each other, learn to think good of each other; and these thoughts can find no lodgement in our thoughts while Love's opposite fills our thought.

While we must learn to see error's claim, we must never forget it is error, not people, and we are repeatedly told by our Leader that error is no-thing. If we will learn to think of it in this way, we shall have no disposition to talk it over on all occasions to see how to meet it.

The little child's definition of the Golden Rule, given in one of the recent Sentinels, can perhaps help each one of us to realize what living this Truth means. "Thinking of others as God thinks of us." God is Love. Then let us know that only by loving can we hope to know anything of God, and if Love is in our hearts it will appear in our lives. The way has been shown us in the Bible and "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures."

Miss Caroline Loring, Dallas, Tex.

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Testimony of Healing

Christian Science a Practical Religion

September 5, 1901

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