IN that wonderful fourteenth chapter of John's Gospei, wherein are recorded those inspiring promises which have brought comfort and courage to so many troubled hearts, there is one declaration of the Master that is of deep significance to Christian Scientists, the authority, as it were, for their endeavor to heal the sick and the sinning: "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also." We should not he unmindful, however, of the Master's frank acknowledgment that of himself he could do nothing, — "the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works;" nor of his prayer that his disciples — and "them also which shall believe on me through their word" — might have that oneness with the Father which was the source of his power: "As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: ... that they may be one, even as we are one."
It follows, therefore, that if all Christian Scientists had attained to this oneness with the Father, if they were as absolutely attuned to the divine good as was Christ Jesus, there would be no failure on their part to heal instantaneously all manner of sickness and all manner of disease, just as he healed these false beliefs of mortality. But, surrounded as they are by the myriad beliefs of life, substance, and intelligence in matter, in which all mankind indulges itself more or less, it sometimes seems necessary for those who attempt to heal themselves and others, to begin this undertaking through argument, along the line of proceeding which Mrs. Eddy has so fully set forth in the chapter on "Christian Science Practice" in our text-book, Science and Health. In the following chapter, however, she explains the reason for the use of the argument, that it is simply preparatory, the while making clear its subordination to the healing truth, in these words: "Remember that the letter and mental argument are only human auxiliaries to aid in bringing thought into accord with he spirit of Truth and Love, which heals the sick and the sinner" (p. 454).
Unfortunately, Christian Scientists sometimes act as though they believed that these auxiliaries were the healing power instead of the divine Mind, — that Mind "which was also in Christ Jesus" and which alone heals; a mistaken belief which largely lends to the establishment of a dependence on personality instead of Principle in the thought of both patient and practitioner. In line with this thought we may cite Mrs. Eddy's words on page 138 of Science and Health, wherein she explains Peter's answer to Jesus' question. "Whom say ye that I am?" She writes: "It was now evident to Peter that divine Life. Truth, and Love, and not a human personality, was the healer of the sick and a rock, a firm foundation in the realm of harmony. On this spiritually scientific basis Jesus explained his cures, which appeared miraculous to outsiders. He showed that diseases were cast out neither by corporeality, by materia medica, nor by hygiene, but by the divine Spirit, casting out the errors of mortal mind."
It will be seen from these teachings of our text-book to which we have referred, how important it is that Christian Scientists do not make use of formulas or stereotyped arguments in their work, because these are bound to become in time the "vain repetitions, such as the heathen use;" and. how important it is also that those who publicly or privately practise the healing truth of Christian Science should reserve to themselves sufficient time for study and for such self-examination and casting out of false beliefs as will enable them at all times to be convinced of the power, presence, and immutability of divine Mind, God, and that it is this Mind alone which heals the sick. Thus armed against doubt and unbelief, they may enter into that spiritual communion, that oneness with divine Mind, which will enable them to declare with confident assurance, as did the Master, "Father. I thank thee that thou hast heard me," ere the manifestation of the power of Truth is visible to mortal sight.
The conscientious Christian Science practitioner sometimes declines to lake a patient, and is criticized therefor; but, however great may lie his desire to relieve all who come to him for help, he knows that the temptation to accept a large number of patients is ever to lie guarded against, in justice both to himself and to those already in his care, because it is imperative that in every treatment given there shall be an absolute realization of the reality and omnipotence of good and the unreality and powerlessness of evil, in whatever form it may seem to present itself. The genuine Christian Scientist knows that this realization cannot be accomplished through the employment of formulas, nor by perfunctory assent to certain fundamental statements; that each case needs individual treatment, individual attention, and that freshness and spontaneity of thought which comes only from unlabored, unhurried, and undisturbed communion with God. The most successful practitioner of Christian Science is not always the one who has the largest number of patients, but rather he who quietly, reasonably, and humbly accepts only the comparatively few to whom he knows he can do justice in giving them the time and attention which their needs demand and which humanity dictates; he who keeps ever before him, in his endeavor to follow in the footsteps of the great Wayshower, to do the works that he did, the attainment of that oneness with divine Mind which will enable him to heal quickly and wholly.
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