The midland journal., 1944-04-07
"The flowers appear"

seEOR, 10, the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone; the
flowers appear on the earth;
the time of the singing of birds is
come" (The Song of Solomon 2:11,
12). These lyrical lines announce the
season when all the earth is renewed
and even the birds rejoice in the
transformation. Do they not also
symbolic that springtide of the
heart when one rejoices in the dawn
of fresh hope and faith, and the
disappearance of oppression and
evil? One need not await a change
of season, however, to experience
revival in his thinking.
st. Paul says (Romans 1922, "Be
not conformed to this world: but
be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that we may prove
what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect, will of God" How is
this resuscitation of human thinking
to be brought about? By turning
humbly to God and letting Him
govern our thoughts, our desires, our
whole lives. Gods will for all is
harmony and well-being. How i'm
portant it is, then, to watch our
thoughts to see that they are not
conforming to mere worldly stand
ards but are pleasing to God.
A little boy who had won first
place in flower-growing contest,
on account of his large and beautiful
specimens, was asked how he had
raised such blossoms; for it was
known that he had only a small
and unfertile plot on which to grow
them. He answered simply, 81 saw
the blossoms when l planted the
seeds" How well this illustrates
what Jesus meant when he said
Matthew 1S:3), Except We be con-
verted, and become as little children,
We shall not enter into, the kingdom
of heaven"l A pure, childlike trust
in God, good, brings harmony into
our lives.
Thoughts are the seeds we are
planting in life's garden, and they
will surely bear fruit. Whether the
harvest yields weeds or blossoms
depends on the kind of seeds planted.
To be receptive to good, and to let
Gods will be done one needs to
know that man is Gods reflection,
spiritual not material. flower has
been likened to Gods smile. but man
is His expression and manifests Gods
nature in every Godlike way.
Those who learn to live above
the discords of material sense dis
cover that there is no power in
matter. They learn that God is divine
Mind. everywhere present. governing
all; and as they awaken to behold
Gods omnipotence and omnipresence
they begin to see Gods law of har-
mony prevail. Mary Baker Eddy
writes in Miscellaneous Writings"
(p. 331, 1922, "As mortals awake
from their dream of material sensa-
ton; this adorable, all-inclusive God,
and all earth's hieroglyphics of Love,
are understood; and infinite Mind is
seen kindling the stars. rolling the
worlds, rejecting all space and Life,
but not life in matter. Wisely
governing, informing the universe,
this Mind is Truth, = not laws of
matter. Infinitely just. merciful, and
wise, this Mind is Love, but not
fallihie love"
"'rhe kingdom of God is within
you" said the Master Q.uke 17:2D.
Each can ask himself, "ls my con-
sciousness kingdom where omni-
potent good reigns?" 1t matters not
what others are doing or thinking.
Our part in establishing the king
dom of heaven on earth is to estab-
lish il first in our own hearts. This
will help others to accept Gods
gracious plan. AS we let His will
be done in us, we shall see more
and more of the blossoms and bless
ings of divine Love everywhere.-
The Christian Science Monitor.