The magnitude and joy of spiritual healing unfold to us day by day through consecrated study of the Bible and the Christian Science textbook; and the quick and permanent results gained from relying wholly upon God for our needs are seen to be far superior to any obtained from other so-called methods of healing.
The statement was made to a student of Christian Science by one who was considering its adoption, that he felt he should first use material means to endeavor to clear up some difficult conditions he was experiencing, and then, having gained his freedom, he would heartily begin the study of Christian Science. What a glorious opportunity this was to explain to the seeker the allness, power, and presence of divine Love, and the harmony of man in God's likeness, who is always free and perfect; also, to make plain to him that the only healing ever needed is that of false concepts regarding God and His creation. One who is experienced in Christian Science, and who has depended upon its beneficent influence over a long period of time and has been healed and blessed by it, could never be willing to depend upon aught else but the power of God for healing and deliverance. In Jeremiah we read, "Behold, I am the Lord, ... is there any thing too hard for me?"
In order to comprehend more fully the benefits to be gained by relying upon God to the exclusion of aught else, one needs to understand what God is, and also man's relation to Him. On page 587 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy gives the following definition of God: "The great I am; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence." What a revelation to any seeker is this clear, complete definition of God! Through gaining some understanding of God in the light of this definition it is easy to comprehend the significance of the foregoing Biblical question, "Is there any thing too hard for me?" No, there is nothing too hard for God to accomplish. Neither is there anything too hard for His reflection, man.
What a different foundation we establish from which to work when we base our spiritual progress upon the absolute allness and perfection of God, rather than upon the standpoint of trying to see good as greater than evil! How much more positive and effective is the truth that since God, good, is All, there is in reality no evil to cope with! In "Christian Healing" (p. 10) Mrs. Eddy says, "God is All, and in all: that finishes the question of a good and a bad side to existence."
Sometimes one who is experiencing inharmony of some kind will say he cannot see why he is not healed, since he is watching his thinking, conversation, and activity, and striving to purify them. If healing is not accomplished, one may rest assured that something is wrong with one's thinking. If we permit ourselves to meditate upon some inharmonious condition which we seem to be experiencing, that in itself is wrong thinking, which will prevent the correction of the falsity. In Philippians we are told what to think upon. There we read, "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
Sometimes we permit ourselves to argue mentally on the wrong side about some adverse circumstance, or to argue audibly with one who is endeavoring to help us destroy it. The error may at times be some general false belief or argument of world thinking, but even in such a case it must find entrance into our consciousness and be accepted as real or powerful before it can cause us any sense of inharmony.
The fact that God has already done all perfectly, proves to us that there is nothing too hard for Him to do. Man, God's likeness, is created to be His witness; to show forth His perfection, His greatness, and His allness. So there is nothing too hard for one who realizes man's divine birthright, and who knows that man is continually expressing all the qualities of God.
It is possible to bring ourselves to a state of spiritual realization that will destroy any falsity which may be trying to force itself upon us. When we struggle long and seemingly without results for a healing, is it not sometimes because we still believe that there is actually something to be healed? Under such circumstances let us pause a moment to see whether we believe that God is All, or whether we are giving seeming power to something besides Him. We may declare that God is omnipresent good, and then unconsciously deny our declaration by admitting that there is something unlike Him that needs to be healed. Is it not at all times erroneous belief in a power apart from God that needs to be healed? Since God is Spirit, perfect and infinite, man, in order to exist, must be, and is, spiritual and perfect. Nothing imperfect or material exists in the realm of infinite Spirit.
In "Unity of Good" (p. 9) Mrs. Eddy says, "Destroy the mental sense of the disease, and the disease itself disappears." In every case it must be seen that all we are contending with is "the mental sense" of error. The question then arises, How are we to destroy this mental sense that we have sometimes entertained so long, and that may seem so real to us? It can be done in every case by understanding God to be all-powerful, ever-present, and perfect Mind, and steadfastly maintaining that the universe, including man, being the expression of God, is like Him—spiritual and perfect. The different synonyms for God given above reveal His nature. It is through maintaining the truth of God's allness and perfection, and perceiving man as His image and likeness, that we gain the desired results in human experience.
In working out problems in Christian Science, it is most important to strive earnestly to understand the allness of divine Mind, since all arguments of error claim to originate in so-called mortal mind, which does not really exist. As we grow to understand even in a degree the allness of divine Mind, we find inharmonious mortal beliefs and their physical effects disappearing. When we establish in our thought the perfect, spiritual standard from which to work, and maintain this standard regardless of sense testimony, man's perfection can be proved.
