I will sing a new song unto thee, O God:
--The Bible, Psalms 144:9—
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| BOY -- oil painting (mid 1960) by Eva-Maria Hogrefe |
“My soul thirsteth for the God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto God of my life.” --The Bible, Psalms 42:2, 8—
“Beholding the infinite tasks of truth, we pause, -- wait on God. Then we push onward, until boundless thought walks enraptured, and conception unconfined is winged to reach the divine glory.”
--Science of Being, from Science and Health, p. 323—
FOR CHILDREN
Life
Infinite Love offers the fullness of
Christ’s cup
which we gratefully receive as
baptism, inspiration,
spiritual understanding,
blessed transformation,
showing that peace and strength abound
As Truth lifts up—
And man in eternal Life
Is found.
--Eva-Maria Hogrefe, C. S.,
published in the Christian Science Sentinel, August 19, 1996-
FOR CHILDREN
Samuel listened
HANNAH and Elkanah loved their little boy Samuel very much. When he was very young they took him to study with a priest named Eli. Eli lived in a temple. Samuel learned from Eli all about God and His goodness. Studying with Eli was sort of like being in Sunday School every day.
Samuel’s mom and dad would come to see him. Every year his mom brought him a coat (see I Sam. 2:19) that she had made for him. It was like the long robs worn by persons of importance. It was an honor for a boy to have such a nice coat.
Samuel’s mom knew that he was very precious to God. How did she know? Maybe because it was clear to her that he was an answer to her prayer to God, our dear Father-Mother. The Bible tells us she “called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord” (I Sam. 1:20).
Eli loved Samuel, too. His own sons made him very unhappy because they didn’t want to be good and honest. Eli tried to tell his sons to love God and to be kind, but they wouldn’t listen. So he ignored their bad behavior without making further efforts to discipline them, letting them sin against God and the people who came to the temple.
One night God called to Samuel. Samuel thought Eli had called him. He got up from his bed and went to Eli and said, “Here am I.” But Eli hadn’t called; he told Samuel to go back to bed. Again, Samuel heard a voice loud and clear calling his name. He got up a and went back to Eli, but Eli said, “I called not … .” A third time Samuel heard the voice. Then Eli knew that it was God who was calling Samuel. He told the boy to answer God.
When God called a fourth time—“Samuel, Samuel”—the boy said, “Speak; for thy servant heareth” (I Sam. 3:5, 6,10).
God told Samuel that He was very displeased with Eli and his sons because Eli “restraint them not” (I Sam. 3:13). It wasn’t easy for Samuel, but he told Eli exactly what God had told him. Eli listened. But his sons did not understand or turn to God. Later when they needed to help the people of their country, they were not able to help them at all.
Samuel learned that it is very important to listen to God and to do as He tells us. God always blesses His children. You and I can learn more how to listen to God by reading Mary Baker Eddy’s book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. On page 323, she writes: “The effects of Christian Science are not so much seen as felt. It is the ‘still, small voice’ of Truth uttering itself. We are either turning away from its utterance, or we are listening to it and going up higher.” Samuel listened to that “ ‘still, small voice’ of Truth and so can we.
“Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground” (I Sam. 3:19). Lots of people heard that Samuel loved God, and that he listened to and followed God, good. His obedience to God helped Samuel learn to know what was right and what was wrong. When he grew up he became a famous judge, and advisor to a king, and a prophet. He was a great help to all the people of his country, which included his mom and dad.
--By Eva-Maria Hogrefe, C. S.,
published in the Christian Science Sentinel, October 30, 1995--
Circumstances don’t determine us, they reveal us. --Eva-Maria--
“Except for the error of measuring and limiting all that is good and beautiful, man would enjoy more than threescore years and ten and still maintain his vigor, freshness, and promise. Man, governed by immortal Mind, is always beautiful and grand. Each succeeding year unfolds wisdom, beauty, and holiness. Life is eternal. … Let us then shape our vies of existence into loveliness, freshness, and continuity, rather than into age and blight.”
--Science and Health, p. 246:20-31—
“Jesus once said, ‘Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink,’ – presuming not on the prerogative of his creator, but recognizing God, the Father and Mother of all, as able to feed and clothe man as He doth the lilies.” – Genesis, from Science and Health, p. 530—
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