People have often been known to start at their shadows, as the saying is, mistaking them for something tangible until reason showed them their mistake. Christian Science is performing the larger task of leading mankind out of the shadow of materiality. In the light of Spirit and true substance the insubstantiality of matter grows daily more apparent, and in that ratio dependence upon materiality decreases and the Christian Scientist learns to rely increasingly on Spirit for his intelligence, activity, endurance, sight, and hearing. Speaking of the Christ-ideal, the opposite of the mortal concept of man, John the Baptist declared, "He must increase, but I must decrease." Through increased spirituality the shadows of fear and mortal belief grow less opaque, and human consciousness becomes a better transparency for Truth.
Sickness is a shadow that lurks in material fear, that fear which calculates one's prospects of health from the standpoint of genealogy, physiology, diet, the thermometer, altitude, and so on. Granted that sickness is a shadow of false belief, how is the body to be healed? Supposing one wanted to remove a black shadow thrown upon the floor by a table, how would he set about it? Would it be by scrubbing or scraping the floor? Was the shadow produced by the floor? Is it inherent in the floor? Can it be removed through the medium of the floor? Would anyone regard the shadow as either tenacious or incurable? No; for everyone knows that with the removal of the object obstructing the light from the floor the shadow would simultaneously disappear, leaving no trace of where it had lain.
The compassionate ministry of Christian Science removes the belief in matter and drugs, sin, physical heredity, poverty, and dark foreboding generally. What can banish every shadow of fear, sin—all materiality —from human thought? Always and only the light and might of divine Love, the purity of Spirit. How evident it is, then, that one who turns to Christian Science for the healing of sickness must absolutely cease consulting the physical body analytically, anxiously, or in any way expectantly. Would the shadow on the floor be removed by examining it with regard to its age and character? Not only would such an examination of the shadow be unavailing, but it would delay its removal through diverting thought from the removal of the object casting the shadow. Therefore, Christian Science bids every sufferer honestly recognize his trouble to be primarily mental, for, as Paul writes, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood," and flesh and blood are powerless to prevail against Truth.
