Almost every one in the course of the search for Truth has at some time experienced a feeling of disappointment. At first all went well, faith appeared so easy, the healing came so quickly, the path seemed one of flowers, and there was a feeling of light where before all had been darkness and confusion. Then, perhaps, came a sterner trial,—the enemy made a stiffer resistance, even counterattacked with some seeming success,—and the question arose: "Why the failure here? The same weapons were used, the same tactics followed; then why was the result different?" The answer may be found in the fact that unwittingly our faith had been ignorant, based largely upon belief, not understanding. We had had no real consciousness of God as actual omnipotence, the one and only Mind.
Faith is but the first step along the road; it must be followed by spiritual understanding, not blind dependence upon God, but a correct acknowledgment and comprehension of God as Love, divine Principle, whose law is perfect, unchanging good meeting humanity's every need. This law is exacting; it must govern our thought, and only correct understanding of it can give us entire reliance upon the Principle it demonstrates. We read in the Bible that God "giveth to all men liberally," but it also states, "Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." With all our heart! Christ Jesus laid similar stress upon whole-heartedness in his definition of the First Commandment. Yet scholastic theology has seemed rather to have taught that we should not seek too closely to find out God. He was to be taken on trust, as it were, and this has undoubtedly resulted in a blind, unthinking kind of faith which believed because it was told so; and when this no longer sufficed, faith dwindled away into a meaningless repetition of words, or else disappeared altogether.
Correct or scientific knowledge of God is the aim and object of Christian Science teaching, and the further we advance in its study, the more clearly does it appear that it is only this divinely inspired understanding of God—Principle—which brings freedom from error and its false beliefs; and this spiritual sense or understanding gives to us an entirely different outlook, a new state of being. It is not acquired suddenly; it is a growth, an education. As we learn to look upon God as the one perfect Mind, we become aware that we are in reality incapable of entertaining any thought or expressing any idea contrary to that Mind. Every real thought is the reflection of Spirit, perfect and true. Mortal mind beliefs have no affinity with Mind or Truth; they are simply illusions, and in proportion to the spiritual understanding of Principle which occupies our thoughts, do we become conscious of the actual being, presence, and all-ness of God, good.
