Watching Point 407

407 — WATCH that you not only recognize the spiritual fact, but claim your ability to retain a demonstrable knowledge of the fact. The fact cannot be changed, since it is the eternal truth of being. Error can only claim to rob us of a realization of the fact. The 139th Psalm asserts that if we ascend into heaven, God is there. This is the eternal fact. But the same Psalm assures us that if we descend into hell, God is also there. Thus the fact is still true, even though the claim is present that man has lost his knowledge of the fact. Hell ceases to be hell when we can real- ize that God is ever-present, guarding and guiding us.

Once one of Mrs. Eddy’s horses bolted. A student called out, “There is no fear,” to no avail. Mrs. Eddy declared, “Princess, you are not afraid,” and at once the horse was quieted. From God’s standpoint the fact is that there is no fear; but from man’s standpoint he must know that he is not afraid, in order to claim a knowledge of the fact. If the fact is the string, then knowing the fact, is using the string to wrap up your bundle. Many students go around with plenty of string, which they do not use in a practical way.