Luke tells us that when Jesus was once going to Jerusalem and his way led through Samaria, he sent messengers into a village "to make ready for him." When the villagers did not receive the Lord "because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem," James and John said to him, "Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?" But Jesus rebuked them and said, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of."
This is the message of Christian Science today to all humanity, for it brings men peace and not punishment. This Science rouses the human consciousness from its Adam-dream, that it may be purified of its errors. Therefore its students are admonished, over and over again, to know "what manner of spirit" they are of.
Probably everyone has found that there are situations in which there is a great temptation to act according to the mortal law of retaliation, instead of according to the reconciling law of divine Love. It is, therefore, extremely important to remember Jesus' rebuke to his disciples. Then God's likeness will become clearer to us. Experience teaches that we contribute to the establishment and maintenance of lasting harmony when the love for Truth, coupled with the courage of honesty, is so strong in us that we are always willing to rebuke erroneous suggestions as Jesus would have wished and in the way Christian Science asks us today.
