I HAVE been more and more impressed recently, in my study of the Bible and Mrs. Eddy's works, particularly Science and Health, with the thought of how very necessary it is for all Christian Scientists to gain some comprehension of the humanity of the man Jesus, in order to understand how to heal the sick, reform the sinning, and uplift and encourage the sorrowing. We are shown constantly that the divine must act upon the human to relieve the pressure of mortal mind; that present conditions along all lines of human experience must he bettered, and that God must be recognized as an ever-present help in time of need, no matter what that need may be. We learn that it is the present with which we are dealing, and the human need is health, goodness, and prosperity, now. The Revelator says, "Now is come salvation, and strength. and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ."
We are told that man reflects God, and if this is so,—and it is,—then man, God's idea, is expressed and is spiritual now. Even in the so-called physical realm God is All; and sin, sickness, and death—evil in its seemingly different expressions—are not real. The only thing which makes it appear that man is material or physical, even now, is the educated belief in the various forms of sin, sickness, and death, caused by the general sense that life is in matter and that evil is real. According to the teaching of Christian Science, man is neither structural nor organic—man reflects Mind and is mental. He has dominion—"he is lord of the belief in earth and heaven,—himself subordinate alone to his Maker." "The divine demand, 'Be ye therefore perfect,' is scientific, and the human footsteps leading to perfection are indispensable. . . . But the human self must be evangelized" (Science and Health, pp. 518, 253).
We are gaining some little conception of the divine Mind called God. We need to make this practical, and as we strive to express our concept of God, the divine must act upon the human. We do know, and we apprehend to some degree, that we are united to God, universal good, and can to some extent realize God's allness and nearness; and to our human sense of things it is necessary to prove this by reflecting here and now the qualities of the divine Mind that act upon the human and destroy the expression of discord seen in hate, jealousy, backbiting, and all uncharitableness; and to reflect good, earnest, human love that can "love thy neighbor as thyself."
It is a bettered sense of the human mind which begins to see that we can be well, happy, pure, good, and loving at the present time. Holding to an understanding of calculus, and refusing to apply the simpler forms of mathematics to daily affairs, so that we may be able to deal justly with our neighbor, would be wholly inconsistent and unprofitable. Holding to the absolute statements of Christian Science would be of no practical use, if we could not apply this understanding in a simple direct way to daily human needs and conditions. To talk constantly about God as Love, while not expressing love in gratitude, justice, consideration, and kindness to those with whom we come in daily contact, is to be ignoble and unworthy. It tends to confuse and repel instead of winning those about us. We may understand all there is for the human mind to know, and yet not be able to express a single thought that would heal the sick; while a person who is ignorant in human ways may reflect the divine ray which heals instantaneously, —be humanly loving enough to bring the divine influence into touch with human needs. Mrs. Eddy said, years ago, "Oh, may the love that is talked, be felt ! and so lived, that when weighed in the scales of God we be not found wanting" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 312). The human sense needs to be sustained while it is in the midst of its seeming battle, and it can only be sustained as it is fed with human kindness, dealt with gently and lovingly, and encouraged to be patient until the divine acts upon the human and the discord is removed.
Truth is a practical reality. When the boy loses his fear, he ceases to whistle in the dark. When the human sense is sure that God is, and that He does work out all our human experiences in a loving way, then it stops trying to brace itself up and proceeds to express naturally and lovingly health, happiness, and prosperity; and this expression, in and of itself, is proof positive that God is and is understood. We do not find it necessary in our daily work to be constantly declaring that two times two are four, in order to prove to ourselves that mathematical calculation is true. We know it—and we use this knowledge, confident of correct results. A true mathematician does not make mistakes. Divine Mind and its reflection, man, have no need of either auditor or accountant to correct their mistakes.
If we have a clear metaphysical recognition that our neighbor is good, is well, is prosperous, no matter what he may seem to express, we do not need to tell him so; we need only to let him become conscious of this fact by our kind and loving manner toward him. It is wise and necessary to give ourselves and our neighbor a metaphysical and human freedom,—to let the divine act upon the human, and not lead or be led, through suggestion from within or without, to criticize, condemn, or hinder God's "little one" from his or her free expression of divine law. Said Jesus, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." We must learn how to feed the human mind with thoughts of comfort, and we can only do this as we let the divine act upon the human with most tender, watchful care. "Feed my lambs," was the Master's command to Peter, who was ardently protesting his love. And again, and yet again he reiterated, "Feed my sheep." This is the law of Life,—"Feed my sheep,"—and it is best accomplished now by expressing sincerity, gentleness, and human kindness towards one another. Says our Leader. "The divinity of the Christ was made manifest in the humanity of Jesus" (Science and Health, p. 25). The Master took an interest in human affairs, and he lovingly helped his neighbor to better his conditions: thus the divine acted upon the human, and so accomplished much good. In following Jesus' example, as taught in Christian Science, it is very necessary for us to go and do likewise.
God is Love. We should learn to express the meaning of these words more plainly in our daily associations, and thus make them a practical reality. A right conception of Christian Science teaches us to journey lovingly and naturally from matter to Mind, and to obtain a normal recognition of the somethingness of good and the nothingness of evil. The divine acts upon the human through love, and destroys our educated belief in fear and hate. "Perfect love casteth out fear," wrote the apostle John, and love, as a spiritual quality, is free from fear and hate and is full of hope, strength, courage, and power. Said Paul, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." We must learn to sustain the key-note of genuine Christian Science, the law of spiritual harmony, which says, "Be not afraid."
"God is All-in-all," and "God is good," in Christian Science are "self-evident propositions" (Science and Health, p. 113). The discords arising from the belief in a material birth and death which are being produced by mortal mind, only serve to call our attention to the harmony of divine Mind and its action upon the human, bringing to the surface the eternal law of harmony. The law of Life is the law of natural good. Says our Leader, "Love is consistent, uniform, sympathetic, self-sacrificing, unutterably kind" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 312). This state of right thinking heals and saves, and rejoices the suffering heart. When we understand the humanity of Christ Jesus, and realize better the present need of the human mind, the yearnings of the human heart, we shall do better, quicker healing, for the divine will then act upon the human, and feed and sustain it with thoughts of love.
