The words of Jesus, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me," have a new and significant meaning in the light of Christian Science.
We understand that the admonition, "let him deny himself," does not mean simply that those who are endeavoring to follow the footsteps of Jesus shall deprive themselves of various things in order that others may have the benefit of them, but it points to the existence of a false self or supposititious mind in each human being, a self made up of a multitude of false beliefs about eternal verities, and every one of these beliefs must be denied, cast out, and the truth put in its place. When this task presents itself to the young Scientist he is appalled by its magnitude, until he remembers that it is God which worketh in him to will and to do of His good pleasure, and then he takes up the task courageously, because not in his own strength.
This denial of self in its true sense begins with the awakening from the dream of materiality to the perception of the divine idea, the real man within, and the recognition, in some degree, of the true relationship existing between God and man.
