OUR beloved Leader writes (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 185), "Self-renunciation of all that constitutes a so-called material man, and the acknowledgment and achievement of his spiritual identity as the child of God, is Science that opens the very flood-gates of heaven; whence good flows into every avenue oi being." The serious work of realizing the truth of this wonderful statement begins in the continuous effort to think in terms of Spirit, while having apparently, and for the time being, to act in terms of matter. This means to move harmoniously in the world of men, and yet maintain mentally the clear distinction between that which is real and that which is unreal.
We learn that the relinquishment of a merely material pleasure means an escape from the pain of that pleasure's inevitable failure to fulfill its promise. We learn in Christian Science how to quell the belief of intelligent matter, and how to abide in the spiritual sense which enjoys only as God enjoys. This joy is steadfast because it depends upon Principle, not upon person; it is the joy of the Christ which makes our joy full. As thought is freed from self-love and self-will we are rendered receptive to the blessings from God, surpassing in loveliness and true satisfaction anything of which we have hitherto dreamed.
The very essence of Christian practice is self-discipline for the sake of others. "For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth," might be called the keynote of Jesus' ministry. "For their sakes" should be our motto, as we seek the true selfhood which leads us out of bondage into purer joys. Those who are learning the joy of renunciation for the universal good of mankind are daily adding to their treasures a glad spirit of loving service. This is known only to those whose quickened apprehension perceives that one infinite Love must include all in one infinite beneficence and ministry. As the reflection of universal Love is shed abroad in our hearts we shall bestir ourselves on behalf of the weak and wayward, seeking to lift their burdens, and striving to awaken and heal them; for the love of God is a boundless, all-embracing love. How patiently the great Master sought to turn the affections of his disciples away from human personality, and to teach them that their chief treasure was not the external and personal, but the spiritual and eternal, and that the renouncing of the personal for the spiritual brings only joy!
