The Equipment of Experience

The web of human life is of so involved a pattern, and the countless threads which enter into its composition are thrown by so many hands, that much of it may remain a meaningless and unintelligible tangle for most of us until that hour of spiritual awakening which illumines not only the path of the future but the experiences of the past.

Nothing more surely saps energy and interdicts progress in any line of endeavor than the depressing confusion which results from the inability to perceive the value and true relations of whole chapters, perchance, of our life history; and one of the earliest satisfactions of those who have received the light of Christian Science is realized in the discovery that many an experience which has hitherto meant nothing more than disappointment and defeat, now assumes new and significant relations to their spiritual life and usefulness. They perceive that things which they had always regarded as valueless, in fact as disabilities, when analyzed and understood through Christian Science, yield them a distinct gain,—add sensibly to their equipment for effective ministry to others.

Shorn of its deceptiveness by "the sword of Spirit," the most regrettable incident of our history may thus add to the intelligence of our diagnosis of those abnormal mental conditions which Jesus has said we should heal. The personal advantage is therefore doubled; we find an interpretation of the advantage is therefore doubled; we find an interpretation of the medley of our own past life, and this in turn furnishes us the wisdom by which we may penetrate the citadel of other lives; for it is thus we acquire the sympathetic touch, the quick discernment, the authoritative judgment which render it possible for us to serve at once, when otherwise we could only stand and wait.

Our equipment for usefulness is enriched furthermore by the incidental acquirement of general information, that intelligent embrace of human life and conditions which places us upon common ground with men, and which enables us to approach them in ways that allay prejudice and awaken interest. "Academics of the right sort are requisite. Observation, invention, study, and original thought are expansive and should promote the growth of mortal mind out of itself" (Science and Health, p. 195). To possess the Mind and motives that were in Christ Jesus,—this is the fundamental requirement of all those who would serve God and help their fellow-men: but we may not forget how constantly and how tactfully our Lord utilized his acquaintance with every-day matters as the illustrative means of lifting the thought and awaking that spirit of inquiry which leads to self-disclosure and true teachableness. The teacher's largest servicebility lies in what he knows of truth, but his success will depend in no small degree upon his knowledge of the present intelligence, disposition, tastes, aspirations, prejudices, surrounding conditions, etc., of his pupils, for these furnish the basis of effective illustration and tactful approach. Next to our spiritual furnishing, breadth and versatility of intelligence with winsomeness of address, best equip us to instruct and inspire others.

If one wanted to reach the ear, and influence the opinions of a husbandman, he would find it to his advantage if he were so familiar with farming as to be able to talk in an interesting way upon that subject, and if in speaking to such a man regarding spiritual things he could happily elucidate his thought by references to the facts and experiences of farm life, his vantage would be distinct and immediate. The ministry of Jesus and of Paul give much evidence that their consideration for forms of presentation was secondary only to their consideration for the truths presented: and, impelled by their example, those who covet the largest usefulness as exponents of Christian truth, will not only seek to apprehend that truth and embody it in their lives, but they will be alert to profit by every incidental means of enlarging their practical availability as channels through which the divine Wisdom is to be communicated to every condition and aspect of human need. All the experiences knowledge and acquirements of the past, and all the gains of wholesome knowledge in the present, are to "work together for good," when apprehended and utilized in the light of Truth. W.

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