"THERE should be no blot on the escutcheon of our Christliness when we offer our gift upon the altar." So Mrs. Eddy writes on page 86 in the chapter "Exemplification" in "Retrospection and Introspection." This is one of many passages in which she urges Christian Scientists to be true to their highest ideal of righteousness in their daily experience.
The scientific Christian tries always to keep his own thought free from any belief of sin, disease, and death. He knows that whatever he may be prompted to do for the betterment of mankind must be done, first of all. by establishing good in his own thinking, and eliminating from it all that is not good. If he would benefit the world by sharing the understanding of a supremely good God, which has come to him through the teaching of Christian Science, he must first accept and apply this teaching in every detail of his own experience; otherwise, he cannot expect to speak with the authority which constituted the power of Christ Jesus.
It is pleasant to feel that one has so much to give to one's fellow men in the hour of need; so much of consolation and of cheer, and of relief from suffering; but at the same time one must lift one's own eyes above the consideration of evil of any kind, as Jesus did, and in forgetfulness of self remember that "the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do." We must, then, not only see what the Father does, but reflect it in our doing, as quickly as we can possibly adjust our thought to this divine ability. Only as day by day we express the serene love of the Father, the pure joy of spiritual consciousness, something, in fact, of "the beauty of holiness," will the healing rightness of divine revelation destroy for us the pretense of organized matter, with the strength of spiritual law.
Christian Scientists have accepted the fact that there is, indeed, the Science of being, the Science of true living, which alone can produce harmony; and they expect to accomplish permanent good for themselves and others by holding steadfastly and honestly to this Science, in spite of any suggestion from the world or the flesh to the contrary. Only divine intelligence can represent Truth effectively at all times, and silence all arguments of ignorance with actual spiritual wisdom and power. As Mrs. Eddy has said in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 15), "Lips must be mute and materialism silent, that man may have audience with Spirit, the divine Principle, Love, which destroys all error."
It is evident that the law of God itself must prevail, and not human opinion about that law; but it is not necessary to wait to express perfection in all its infallibility before attempting to do the healing and saving work which Jesus told the seventy as well as the twelve disciples to do, and for the continuance of which Mrs. Eddy established the Christian Science movement. Because of any personal feeling of unworthiness one need not put off doing the good that he may be able to do now; he can immediately try to overcome any quality of thought which would interfere with the revelation of the divine nature.
Jesus not only preached a doctrine of peace and good will toward men but applied it every day of his human ministry by overcoming the world, with its accepted beliefs of incapacity and human weakness. The great Way-shower constantly endeavored to establish in his own experience the invulnerable unity of a wholly good God and a wholly good man, Father and Son, untouched by human misconceptions. Mrs. Eddy writes (Science and Health, p. 18), "He did life's work aright not only in justice to himself, but in mercy to mortals—show them how to do theirs, but not to do it for them nor to relieve them of a single responsibility."
Never forgetting the need for greater purification of thought, our Master said, "Father, . . . glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee." Those who would be Scientific Christians will echo this great and humble prayer, and will remember the specific need for preparing the heart for holiness, in order to receive holiness.
