IT is a great privilege to be living in the twentieth century. In 1895 Mary Baker Eddy said (Pulpit and Press, p. 8): "The children are destined to witness results which will eclipse Oriental dreams. They belong to the twentieth century." As students of Christian Science, however, it is important for us to consider whether we are advancing as rapidly as we should in the spiritual awakening of this era.
In our study and application of the teachings of Christian Science there is an essential that cannot be stressed too strongly, namely, spirituality, that purity of thought whereby we understand God and perceive His spiritual, perfect creation. As Christ Jesus expressed it, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." This purity or spirituality enables us to grasp the meaning of the statement in the first chapter of Genesis, "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." Through spirituality we see that in reality we live in a perfect, spiritual universe; that perfect God and perfect man forever remain unchanged. According to the teachings of Christian Science, based upon the Bible, pure spirituality belongs to God's perfect man; but, humanly speaking, we must constantly watch our thinking so that we do not acquiesce in any lie to the contrary.
Sometimes progress may seem to require severe mental struggles with false suggestions of carnality, such as disease, pestilence, or lack; but through spirituality we can refuse to believe them, for they are impossible in God's "very good," beautiful kingdom, and the belief that they are possible is an utter lie. If the false, carnal mind claims to present physical or other discord, we can see this as an opportunity for gaining a victory through pure spirituality over mistaken thinking.
