IN the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy states (p. 31), "First in the list of Christian duties, he taught his followers the healing power of Truth and Love." Not only did Jesus teach his followers that the healing element of Christianity was of prime importance, but he showed them conclusively that the healing power was not in or of himself. He turned them away from all personal good to God—divine Principle, Love. Laying no claim to supernatural power, permitting no adulation to be centered on his human self, he declared (John 5:30), "I can of mine own self do nothing;" and again (Matt. 19:17), "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God."
The Christian Science student understandingly acknowledges God, good, to be All-in-all. To recognize the fact of God's allness is to accept the infinitude of His goodness. The fact that God is All, and that He is infinite good, clearly realized and utilized, is the truth which destroys any and every form of evil. God's presence is omnipresence. His power is incomparable: God is not a greater power nor the greatest power; He is the only power, infinite and supreme. Whatever the demand for healing, be it mental or physical, financial, dispositional, or moral, the power of the Christ, Truth, is ever present and able to supply the need.
Man, made in the likeness of God, reflects the nature of divine Love. Since Love, God, is infinite Spirit, every quality reflected by man must be infinite and universal. For example, to depend upon a finite, personal sense of love for satisfaction is to court disappointment and unhappiness. To think of supply or substance as material is to be subjected to the fluctuations and limitations of matter values. To rely, even unintentionally, upon one's human sense of ability and intelligence in solving a problem is to limit achievement and augment effort. The spiritual demand upon all students of Christian Science is that they demonstrate man's God-given heritage of infinite intelligence, boundless love, supreme happiness, and affluent supply. When one relies steadfastly upon the infinitude of Truth and Love—here, there, and everywhere—problems begin to fade away in the ever-present supremacy of good.
Although it is divine Principle—Truth and Love—and not person to whom we turn for healing, yet the practitioner of Christian Science has a part to fulfill, an office of consecrated service to perform, in this healing ministration which Mrs. Eddy has declared to be of first importance among Christian duties. Even as the panes of a window must be kept clear for the admittance of the light, so must the consciousness of the working Scientist be purified in order to be a transparency for the healing rays of Truth. The light does not find ready ingress to thinking blurred with beliefs of materiality.
That is why a childlike thought with its pure receptivity has sometimes healed discordant conditions when one perhaps more schooled and experienced, after earnest endeavor, has failed. The latter may have been sincerely striving to gain what he considered to be a better sense of divine metaphysics, without realizing that to work with the simple spiritual facts of being is to work with divine metaphysics. To accept with simple trust man's God-given heritage of understanding will bring us out of that which seems intricate and into the realm of the harmonious. Truth, which is both simple and profound, is possible of application and demonstration not only where sickness and sin are concerned, but in all human experiences.
A young Christian Scientist in her first year of high school found the study of a certain branch of mathematics very difficult; in fact, her daily grades were below passing. Seeking Christian Science help, she was advised to study each morning before leaving for school the definition of God as given in Science and Health (p. 587): "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."
Obediently she declared and realized that as God's reflection she expressed all that He possesses. She reasoned thus: Since God is "all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise" Mind and intelligence, then man, by reflection, expresses His infinite wisdom, intelligence, and ability. Day after day she claimed her right as God's reflection to demonstrate these spiritual qualities. At the end of the semester her grades were so excellent, not only in mathematics but in all her subjects, that she was not required to take any of the semester's final tests. The attainment of this high standard with its reward of freedom from examinations was most gratifying to the student, but the definite proof that man expresses the qualities of God, which came in return for absolute reliance on Truth and Love, has been of great and lasting value.
If we would demonstrate health and harmony, happiness and holiness, we must faithfully look beyond the testimony of the material senses and hold our gaze to the Christ, the truth about God and man. When error declares the presence of disease or a lack of physical ability to carry on, we must hold steadfastly to the truth and see instead God's reflection, strong, whole, and free. If the problem is a discordant home or lack of companionship, we must know that man as the compound idea of God reflects His completeness and satisfaction, and that man's happiness is not transitory nor measured in relative terms, but is changeless, infinite joy. Should limitation and failure seem real, we must contrariwise affirm the infinite abundance and ability of God. As we continue to pierce through the dense fog of mortal mind's assertions, not only shall we keep our own joy, but Truth will be seen in healing effects, and divine Love's love for man will be demonstrated.
Is it not love in its highest sense that prompts us to deny an erroneous concept of man and see instead of a fallen, degenerate mortal the sinless man of God's creating? If we have humanly done all we can to lift a fallen one but in vain, let us turn to Christian Science, and the silent mental declarations and realization of divine Love and Truth will prove their certain efficacy. Let us humbly seek God in all times of need, and with conviction affirm His sacred Word. The Scriptures declare (Ps. 107:20), "He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." The Word of God is Love's divine message speaking to us through the Christ, Truth, and delivering us from our ills.
Let us strive to exemplify in daily living the true sense of Love. It was his understanding of man's oneness with divine Love and his inseparability from the Christ, Truth, which enabled our Master, Christ Jesus, to heal so quickly and surely; and Mrs. Eddy followed his example. Her life was a selfless quest for spiritual knowledge. She abandoned any sense of personal glorification or accomplishment to devote herself to serving mankind and imparting her knowledge of God. In addition to our Leader's many administrative duties, her healing work, and her writing, she repeatedly revised Science and Health, as God directed her. Truly the rich fruition of her life proved her to be a God-inspired witness for Truth and Love.
As the Christian Scientist studies the Bible and his Leader's writings, as he strives to practice their teachings and reads the authorized literature, he cannot fail to demonstrate and exemplify that which he has gained therefrom. The influx of light received from pondering and practicing the truth of being will heal him physically and empower him spiritually, and his demonstration of health and strength exemplified in daily living will be a shining light leading many to the way of redemption. This imparting of Truth and Love is our real career—this our destiny.
Let us never grow weary in well-doing! Regardless of how difficult may seem the task before us, Christianly scientific knowing will enable us to accomplish it. Of this our Leader reassures us in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany," where she is quoted as saying (p. 345), "But every thought tells, and Christian Science will overthrow false knowledge in the end."
