According to Christian Science the real man, spoken of in the first chapter of Genesis as created in the image and likeness of God, is coexistent with and inseparable from God. Christ Jesus alone completely exemplified this perfect man. He proved his sonship with God by overcoming all manner of sickness, sin, discord, lack, and even death, and finally gave the supreme proof in rising above human sight in what is known as his ascension. Christendom has generally held that when Jesus rose out of the physical sight of his disciples, this constituted his ascension. Christian Science makes apparent that his ascension included all his work as he was about his Father's business, and was completed when, his life mission accomplished, he disappeared to material comprehension.
Jesus taught that each of us can follow him as we attain to a like spiritual understanding of God and man, for he said, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also." It is possible, then, for each of us today, in the degree that we follow in the Master's footsteps and reflect the Mind which was in him—the divine Mind which is God —to rise above the beliefs and ills of the flesh and attain to man's heritage as God's image and likeness. Our continuous overcoming of the flesh and all error is our spiritual ascension; and we can daily so apply and live the teachings of Christian Science that we steadily approach closer to the culmination of our ascension above material sense to the full realization of perfection.
There are many factors which enter into our individual spiritual ascension. Let us briefly consider three: prayer, gratitude, and love.
