Many people first fell the salutary effects of Christian Science in their lives through physical healing. But continuance in the study and application of its rules soon reveals the fact that physical healing is not the primary mission of Christian Science, though it is important as a demonstration of the power and availability of God to correct discords in human experience.
The higher mission of Christian Science is the healing of sin and materiality. This mission is a compelling force in the lives of those who are endeavoring to spiritualize thought and to live their lives to the glory of God and of His Christ, which reveals man's true selfhood. When one embraces this Science as his religion and way of Life, he recognizes that he has a duty and a responsibility to honor its teachings by exhibiting to the world as far as possible a life of unimpeachable moral and spiritual excellence.
In "Miscellaneous Writings," apropos of the Scriptural passage (Acts 16:31), "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," and what it means to believe, Mrs. Eddy explains that it does not mean merely to hold an opinion concerning Jesus. She states (p. 197), "But it does mean so to understand the beauty of holiness, the character and divinity which Jesus presented in his power to heal and to save, that it will compel us to pattern after both; in other words, to 'let this Mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.' (Phil. ii. 5.)"
