Part 34 (1/2)

”'Every branch that beareth fruit is purged'--that is, if you are a mixture of good and evil beliefs, you will have to be cleansed of the evil, before you can do much with the good. This cleansing process is quite properly named purging. This is what we undergo in suffering.

”'He whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,' means the good in us chastens us, cleanses us for the further working of the Good. Punishment, then, there must be, just as long as we believe in, and fellows.h.i.+p with error.

”Mrs. McClaren, a staunch Presbyterian, did not seem satisfied with this explanation, but Mrs. Pearl told her not to let the question trouble her, for if she would do the best she could with what she knew, in due time the solution would come to her.

”In the night it came. After she retired, the question kept pressing upon her so that she could not sleep.

”About two o'clock it seemed as though a great flood of light came, and with it the clearance of the whole problem. The texts on that theme became illumined as it were, and she could see how impossible it is for the spirit to suffer or be punished when it is like G.o.d who can not 'behold evil.' She came over this morning and told me about it. I will give you her explanation of Matt. xxv: 31, 32. 'When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.'

”The Son of man, consciousness of Truth, shall come (be developed) with all glorious thoughts (angels) and judge us in all our ways (nations) and shall discriminate between the false and the true, the evil and the good, then the good motives or good thoughts (sheep) shall coalesce or be set on the right hand with Truth, and the evil or erroneous beliefs (goats) shall be relegated to the left, the negative or no-side, and swallowed up in their native darkness which is nothingness.

”This is the key to the rest of the chapter, and it is in the same line with Mrs. Pearl's explanation, but Mrs. McClaren is delighted that it came to _her_. Now she feels as though a mountain had been lifted from her heart, so great has been her fear that Christian Healing would make her disbelieve in eternal punishment, which she had learned was an incontrovertible doctrine. Now she realizes that nothing but Truth itself is being revealed to her, and it seems that her heart will burst for joy. This may seem extravagant, but it is just what she said, and after all, you are used to enthusiasm since your wife is an enthusiast.

”Is it not wonderful? I ask myself over and over, and echo answers 'wonderful'! But oh, how ignorant we ever will be, unless we stop and wait for the spirit to tell us what is true! It is ignorance and foolishness that we have to contend with as much as anything else, for it is one of the thickest clouds that hide knowledge. Until we have learned to turn to the hidden fountain of wisdom, we are helplessly bound to error's ways.

”Even after we go forth from a cla.s.s, and feel that we have been baptized with the spirit, we are afraid we will not be wise enough to answer the world's questionings of our faith, are afraid we may not know just how to proceed with a certain problem, afraid we will be too weak to do the things that come to us to be done.

”'Oh ye of little faith,' says the rebuking Christ within us--'why doubt your knowledge, when G.o.d is your wisdom? Why doubt your intelligence, when G.o.d is your intelligence? Why doubt your strength, when G.o.d is your strength?'

”As we realize there is but one Mind, and that it is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, the influence of all other thoughts will fade quite away. It is because we recognize the carnal mind whose thoughts are frivolous, vain, wretched or miserable, that we are unsettled and dissatisfied. There can be no foundation, no sense of security, to the one who is continually listening to other than the Good.

”Know all wisdom through the universal Mind, and whoever draws his knowledge by inspiration from this source shall become as one with you, and we all shall be as one with the supreme Mind.

”There is an indelible but invisible stamp of truth marking the utterance of those through whom this Mind is expressed, and the invisible something within us, sometimes called the 'Spirit itself,'

sometimes the 'light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world,' will recognize and appropriate its own. If we keep this judgment faculty unbiased, it will lead us to choose the books we read and teach us how to separate the wheat from the chaff. It is best to read the thoughts of one writer until we understand the root, branch and growth of his inspiration. It is not well to go from one author to another while we are young in the thought, any more than it would be well to take a music lesson from a different teacher every week.

”We must remember that 'he that doeth the will shall know of the doctrine,' and to start out with the Divine will as our guide, as we do when we say, 'G.o.d works through me to will and to do,' is to grow in knowledge of all that pertains to the doctrine of the blessed truth that sets us free.

”Never talk of failures, or be discouraged by them, because many times the discouraging outlook is but the prelude to a bounteous harvest. Work with an undaunted faith in the mighty Invisible, knowing that you serve the only Power, are governed by the one Principle, Infinite Justice, that ever rewards according to service. Doing your best, the Best rewards you.

”Under all circ.u.mstances we declare our unfailing wisdom because we ask of the Good. We can not foolishly be led away because judgment to do is always with us.

”This is the fifth stage in the patient's progress, and we treat him for ignorance and foolishness as possibly reflected from the five different sources. Deny that he can be ignorant of the truth, or foolish in believing error. Affirm all strength and courage and steadfastness. He comes to-day with an uncertain ring in his voice. He is undecided as to what to do; is weak and nerveless; can not tell whether he is better or worse. The treatment for strength and courage will bring him back to Truth, and he will brighten and revive under the warm influence of your sunny faith.

”One more lesson! I shall be glad, yet sorry, when it is over. Oh, what an experience this has been! Surely, I shall never be such a weak, impatient woman again. Thank G.o.d! Now I know what there is for me in this beautiful world.

”Good bye,

”MARION.”

CHAPTER x.x.xV.

”Build on resolve, and not upon regret, The structure of thy future. Do not grope Among the shadows of old sins, but let Thine own soul's light s.h.i.+ne on the path of hope, And dissipate the darkness. Waste no tears Upon the blotted record of lost years, But turn the leaf, and smile, oh smile to see The fair, white pages that remain for thee.”

--_Ella Wheeler Wilc.o.x._

”MARLOW, October ----.

”I suppose this is the last letter I will write on the lessons in Christian Healing, but I will be faithful as ever, even though I tell it all over again when I see you.