MANY individuals, after they begin to grasp the teachings of Christian Science, endeavor to reconcile some of the absolute statements found in its text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," with their own limited human knowledge or experience, and this oftentimes leads to a confused state of thought which opens the door for doubt and discouragement. Yet if the same individuals would accept some of the simpler statements which constitute the basic teachings or premises of Christian Science, just as they accept the fundamental facts or statements upon which the science of mathematics is founded, and then prove the verity of these statements by practical application with "signs following," there would be no occasion for uncertainty.
One of the problems that sometimes puzzles the student of Christian Science is how the human mind can gain a knowledge of God, or how the divine Mind can act upon the human mind, when Christian Science teaches that Spirit and matter, divine Mind and mortal mind, so called, are exact opposites and have no connection the one with the other. In other words, how can the divine Mind, which knows nothing but the spiritual or good, and is not cognizant of matter or evil, answer the prayer or desire of the human mind, satisfy the longing heart, heal the sick, or set aside material laws? That God's power and presence has been manifested in the so-called material realm, is recorded many times in the history of the children of Israel, the experience of the prophets, and in the life and works of Christ Jesus. Furthermore, on page 427 of Science and Health Mrs. Eddy says, "Immortal Mind, governing all, must be acknowledged as supreme in the physical realm, so-called, as well as in the spiritual."
Sometimes a simple lesson from nature helps us to comprehend more clearly a spiritual fact, and perhaps such a lesson may be helpful in this instance. Let us take, for example, a flower seed and its development or transition until the flower in its perfection and beauty appears. The little seed may be colorless and insignificant. It bears no semblance whatever to the beautiful plant or flowers which may develop therefrom. But in the spring the soil is prepared and the little seed is planted in the ground, where all is dark and cold and damp. To all appearances it has no knowledge of the sun, because it is separated from the sun by the earth or soil which surrounds it. Likewise the sun cannot see or know anything about the little seed, because it is buried in the ground where the rays of the sun do not penetrate. One might think because its vision of the sun was obscured the little seed must always remain such; but this is not the case. On the contrary, it feels the animating influence of the warm sunshine and the refreshing showers, and as it does so it begins to expand until it bursts its prison cell and then sends upward a tiny shoot to the sunlight above. Next the little plant appears above ground, and as it responds to the sunshine it begins to unfold and manifest foliage, color, and symmetry.
