THE teachings of Christian Science are glad tidings to all who are seeking the truth. The facts of being are so convincingly set forth in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" that the one truly looking for enlightenment soon realizes that his search is rewarded. Here, indeed, is revealed the divine Science, the Comforter or "the Spirit of truth," which Christ Jesus promised would be sent from the Father and would testify of him. This holy message comes as the fulfillment of prophecy. It interprets the truth of being so that men can apprehend it.

We cannot hope to grasp these wonderful realities without effort, for they are divine, and must be spiritually discerned. We must grow into their spiritual atmosphere. We must prove the fundamental truths in our daily tasks, so that we may be ready to learn the larger lessons. Let us be grateful for even our slight understanding! In centuries past, pious and earnest Christians spent a great part of their lives in a vain search for the truths that have been made plain to us through the revelation of Christian Science.

Nearly two thousand years ago Christ Jesus proclaimed and demonstrated the truth of being, but comparatively few understood it. The record of his ministry and teachings, emphasized and explained in Christian Science, constitutes a perfect example of living for all to follow, even to the extent of healing the sick and destroying sin and raising the dead.

We should be patient and faithful in using the truth which we already comprehend, confident that our knowledge is correct, its foundation impregnable, and our guidance sure. Growth from infancy in spiritual understanding to "the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" is attended by holy lessons and experiences which exalt and bless us. It is necessary for our consciousness to be purified and cleansed of everything that is not perfect. This refining procedure may seem to be long and exacting. If, however, we enter joyfully into the spirit of it, watching and working for the destruction of our material handicaps, we shall hasten the process. As we search out any weaknesses and prayerfully seek their correction, we promote our purification and growth.

Discrimination between good and evil should be cultivated, and everything that does not measure up to the standard of good should be promptly and positively rejected as unreal. Halfway measures are not permissible, and the wise student will be patient and faithful in well-doing as he gains spiritual understanding.

Having seen so much of sickness and discord, mortals instinctively accept as true the evidence of these conditions. Our problem is to prove the truth which corrects this travesty, to know intuitively that health, harmony, is the rule of real existence, and to manifest it in our daily experience.

Men cannot live to themselves alone if they would be qualified to receive God's richest blessings. Even though one does well in his own small circle, he must fulfill his obligation to others. The great attainment in Christian Science is not confined to purifying ourselves alone. We must also see the true selfhood of all as spiritual. The belief that the beggar is poor, the dishonest man a thief, the one who would injure us a scoundrel, is an illusion of material sense. God made each of His children perfect, and incapable of knowing or doing evil. The clouds of error which surround the mortal sinner and the discordant one are not part of man in God's image and likeness.

Everything that seems to lack perfection is a direct challenge to our understanding and application of Christian Science. If we accept false evidences, we obscure the very foundation of our faith. On the other hand, each realization that the error we see is nothing, each correcting of discordant conditions, brings us nearer to the goal of perfect being, and so blesses all mankind.

The Bible admonishes us to love our neighbor as ourself. Does this not carry with it the obligation of seeing him as we learn to behold ourselves—in the image and likeness of God? Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy kingdom come." If we would have God's kingdom come in our present experience, we must correct our impression of ourselves and our associates. We must separate from our thought of them the errors they seem to manifest, until each and every one is seen as expressing Godlike qualities and harmonizes perfectly with the true concept of His kingdom. Our success or failure in finding heaven on earth is in direct proportion to our ability to see God's reflection in His children—in our fellow men and ourselves.

Our Leader writes (Science and Health, pp. 476, 477): "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and thiscorrect view of man healed the sick." This beautiful description of the Master's method explains why the multitudes thronged him. Through his understanding he lifted above material discord all who appealed to him. He saw their true, spiritual perfection so clearly that he healed them.

As followers of Christ, Truth, it is our duty to emulate Jesus in healing and uplifting the world through our right thinking. We should correct the suggestion of error from without, as well as from within. If we are faithful, earnest, and sincere, our vision will become increasingly spiritual. The mists of mortal thinking will fade away, and we shall find at hand "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."