Oftentimes the very simplicity of the truth of being appears a stumbling block to men, so accustomed have they become to having their vision blurred in the dusty atmosphere of material codes and theories. Simplicity, as a quality which in one sense means "freedom from subtlety or abstruseness; . . . clearness," is not sufficiently appreciated by the human mind. But what a great quality it is; how restful, how invigorating! Driving through the country, and being obliged to ask directions, one may have been given a very complicated or confused array of them. And then, perhaps, someone else in a few words makes the way perfectly clear. What a difference in pointing out the way!
Surely the student of Christian Science wishes to let his life be a clear reflection of the infinite design of good. Opposed to the apparent subtlety and complicated processes of error is the simplicity of Truth, whose sharp blade is laid at the root of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This tree of the knowledge of good and evil needs to be destroyed by the true sense of divine good, which is the heritage of every child of God, as the reflection of Mind. There are no additions or subtractions to the one and only creation, no deviation from what the one and only Mind knows and creates. In the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy writes (p. 275), "No wisdom is wise but His wisdom; no truth is true, no love is lovely, no life is Life but the divine; no good is, but the good God bestows." The understanding of this statement gives us such a deep sense of what really is, of what our true selfhood reflects, that our lives assume a much more serene and powerful outlook.
Christianity is simple, for it is of the very nature of good to be simple. Only the false and therefore unreal is involved. Could anything be simpler than the Scriptural words, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord"? And the teachings of our Master, Christ Jesus — how touching they are in their tender simplicity! He shows us that to obey the command to love God with all the heart, soul, mind, strength, and our neighbor as ourself, is all we are required to do. The question is sometimes asked, Is Christian Science as simple as the teachings of Christ Jesus? It is, indeed, and for the excellent reason that it is founded upon his teachings and practice.
