"The old order changeth"

F. W. S. BLOXHAM

There is no greater proof of a poet's genius than his capacity to pierce the darkness of human strife and struggle, and to see that it signifies, after all, but the breaking up of old beliefs and the dawning of an era of more hopefulness for mankind at large. Why such a change should be accompanied by so much fear and sense of suffering is due to the generally accepted belief in the power and tenacity of evil, and the corresponding necessity for meeting its onslaughts with fire and sword and all the paraphernalia of materiality. Thus it has ever been throughout human history, and thus it is today, in spite of the admitted progress made by civilization; in spite, too, of the Master's warning that they who take the sword shall perish by the sword.

For those who have eyes to see, however, those who have gained the vision of Truth in Christian Science, the present time is full of promise. Even among those who have not yet recognized that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal," but spiritual, there is a mighty awakening to a consciousness of great issues, before which all worldly considerations count as nothing, so that they move as inspired through the noise and din of battle,—soldiers fighting in the cause of humanity.

Grand as this spectacle is, there is something which stirs the Christian Scientist still more deeply, namely, the consciousness that it is the "still small voice" of Truth calmly but persistently making itself heard, and causing this breaking up of time-honored beliefs, overturning and overthrowing till the reign of righteousness be established in the consciousness of all men. With what gratitude should we strive to play our part in the world's redemption, equipped as we are with the knowledge that even when the senses clamor loudest of discord and woe, the kingdom of heaven is here and now, and that in the ratio of our receptivity to spiritual truth we become partakers of this kingdom here on earth.

In the realm of absolute Truth there is no strife, no discord, for the activities of Mind are eternally harmonious and all Mind's ideas are under the governing influence of the Father-Mother God. This is clearly indicated in Mrs. Eddy's spiritual interpretation of the Lord's Prayer as found on page 16 of Science and Health. The practical application of this truth, known in Christian Science as demonstration, causes the mists of sin and discord to vanish into their native nothingness. "The old order changeth," sang the poet, foreseeing in the seeming defeat of his ideal knight simply a greater and mightier victory at hand for those who are beginning to realize the power of Spirit, the everlasting triumph of God. Thus the loyal Christian Scientist, looking on at the strife and clamor of error's so-called life, rallies his spiritual forces and rejoices in the midst of seeming darkness and turmoil, hearing again the Master's ringing cry of triumph: "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

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