THE Scriptures abound in accounts of the consecrated lives of prophets and apostles, lives consecrated to holy thought and work. Because of their love for God and unselfed devotion to their highest sense of good, these servants of Christ, Truth, were enabled in times of great stress to rise to the pure consciousness of man's true being; and thus to prove triumphant over false material sense. This was evidenced in the healing of themselves and of others, as in the case of the restoration of the Shunammite's son by Elisha. Other instances of healing, through spiritualized thought alone, are cited in the Old Testament; while the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles contain many narratives of the works of Jesus and his followers.
Mrs. Eddy discovered the mode of spiritual healing through her study of the Bible; and she gave it to mankind in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." She writes on page 14 of this, the Christian Science textbook: "Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual,—neither in nor of matter,—and the body will then utter no complaints. If suffering from a belief in sickness, you will find yourself suddenly well. Sorrow is turned into joy when the body is controlled by spiritual Life, Truth, and Love." The faithful student of Christian Science demonstrates, time after time, that error can be overcome in an instant. Such is his happy experience when he is uplifted to that spiritual state of consciousness which realizes that all that exists is God. Spirit, and His universe of spiritual ideas.
This exaltation of thought may not be attained in a day. Our beloved Leader writes (ibid., p. 261), "Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts." Note that thought is to be held to "the enduring, the good, and the true." not to any false concept of the human mind or to any mistaken desire of the human heart. When these latter are laid aside,—in other words, when the mortal sense of selfhood is subjugated,—then the real selfhood and all that rightfully goes with it will be apparent.
