In his epistle to the Romans, Paul speaks of those things which must needs follow the way of the evildoer, and contrasts them with the sure rewards which come to those who, through "patient continuance in well doing," have earned the right to recognition as followers of the Christ. Present-day disciples of the master Christian sometimes feel that the seeming struggle is greatly prolonged, and that their earnest efforts to hold to good and reject evil are poorly rewarded. Yet Jesus could afford to wait, and without impatience, never doubting ultimate victory. Persistent striving is certainly essential; and however long the way may seem to be, whatever of loneliness, discouragement, and fear may assail us, it is the way the Master trod, the way of every great and earnest one who, through faithful endeavor to overcome and live above the troublous human sense of things, ultimately finds his way into the Father's house. The Father's house is the sheltering spiritual consciousness of peace and freedom, where one can abide despite the clamorous voices of material sense, which would argue that everything worth while was being left behind.

On page 22 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy, who knew every step of the "thorn road," has written: "If your endeavors are beset by fearful odds, and you receive no present reward, go not back to error, nor become a sluggard in the race. When the smoke of battle clears away, you will discern the good you have done, and receive according to your deserving." All who have striven to lift their heads above the mystifying mortal experiences know something of the smoke of battle; but they also know that there is but one way out, and that is to go forward in faith. Faith in the triumph of all that is good, and hence of God, is an all-powerful weapon whereby one may vanquish discouragement and fear. There is also "the sword of the Spirit" with which to destroy all beliefs in the reality of matter and dependence thereupon. If we turn back we are not fit for the kingdom, nor can we find God in doing so. That would only mean retaking our forward steps at some future time.

Jesus said, "I am the way;" and, "No man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Then the way he took is the way for all mankind; and when one catches even a slight glimpse of the approaching glory, apparent sacrifices become as nothing, and the roughness of the way is quite forgotten. It is gain and not loss; it is discarding temporal things to find those which are eternal; it is "beauty for ashes" and "the oil of joy for mourning." Only through acquiring the Christ-consciousness can we enter into the "secret place of the most High." There is no other open door; and only through honest self-surrender, which is requisite in order to pass through this door, can one gain sufficient courage to be patient and to continue in well-doing.

A woman who was advised to be patient in the midst of difficulties which had seemed unending in their insistence, said wearily: "Patient! I am just sick of being patient." Doubtless there are others who would echo the thought if not the words. Now where was her mistake? She was trying to be patient with discordant conditions, instead of rising patiently in rebellion against them, as is sometimes necessary. She was striving silently to endure what seemed a very real evil, instead of denying its power and entity and turning her thought to the light of Truth, where no evil is.

To be patient is to be "submissive, uncomplaining, resigned." Then should we not know to what we are to be submissive and resigned? Surely we do not have to be resigned to injustice, nor submissive to evil suggestions; but we must be amenable to every good thought and activity, thereby learning to live above the shadows of materiality. Instead of yielding to ostensible evil and its false claims, we are enabled to go our way, quiet, unafraid, and unharmed in the very midst of seeming strife and clamor. The knowledge that evil is no part of man's heritage lifts us above it into the joyous freedom of the infinite good. In a letter to be found in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 133) our inspired Leader, whose whole life was one of "patient continuance," wrote, "In the midst of depressing care and labor I turn constantly to divine Love for guidance, and find rest."

Those who actually live in this way often invite wondering comment from onlookers, because humanly surrounded by conditions which appear too heavy to be borne. It is because they have learned mentally and spiritually to be patiently subservient to good only, and to live in the serene consciousness of the ever-presence of Love, regardless of the evidences of evil. They live in a world of their own, alone with God, whose love is unfailing—a mental realm, where nothing can disturb if they but have the strength and understanding to shut the door on evil. One is not obliged to submit to hard situations as having the mastery, nor to adopt the rôle of a martyr. An attitude of either sort is wholly due to wrong reasoning. There is but one power to be resigned to, and that is God—to His will and way, the way of peace and serenity.

Even though outward conditions remain unchanged, one gradually acquires an inward security, which refuses to be annoyed. Jesus was always consciously with the Father, whether jostled by the crowds as he walked the streets of Jerusalem, or as he spoke to the multitudes by the sea, or when he was in the garden at Gethsemane. No human thought was there to help and inspire, because all failed to comprehend the majesty of the Christ-man, who walked beside them. To be called upon even to approximate the experiences of the Master should fill one's heart with gratitude instead of despair.

To behold evil as unreal and powerless aids in the speedy destruction of evil, instead of increasing its fraudulent influence through fear and submission. It is wholly possible to prove the truth of the words of Richard Lovelace:

We can, through diligent right thinking, prove our freedom from every restricting belief; and through this process the stone walls of injustice, persecution, domination, misunderstanding, and so on, will crumble into nothingness. This is the light which shineth in darkness; and whether the darkness comprehends it or not, it must necessarily go down before it. Then we free not only ourselves, but all those who may seem to be channels for erroneous activities.

As patience is synonymous with right resignation, so continuance is synonymous with persistence; and it is through persistent resignation to good only, and consequent rejection of impersonal evil and its claim as person or circumstance, that we learn to prize and gratefully accept the loving counsel of Mrs. Eddy, found on page 206 of "Miscellaneous Writings": "Press patiently on; God is good, and good is the reward of all who diligently seek God." Then "patient continuance" should always be exercised in well-doing, never in allegiance to evil-doing, manifested by ourselves or any one else. Through this method of obedience to good we inevitably rise above all mortal perplexities into the eternal light of God's beneficent reality.

Copyright, 1926, by The Christian Science Publishing Society, Falmouth and St. Paul Streets, Boston, Massachusetts. Entered at Boston post office as second-class matter. Acceptance for mailing at a special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 11, 1918.