WHEN word was brought to Jesus that his friend Lazarus was sick, he said (John 11:4), "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." He gave no thought to what the demonstration of God's power might do to exalt himself as a human person. Rather was he thinking of glorifying God by proving to mankind that the real man never dies. The record of his life shows clearly that he never yielded to the temptation to consider what would be the most expedient thing for him from a human point of view. "I seek not mine own glory," he announced simply (John 8:50). He dedicated his life to the glorification of God.
No more did Mary Baker Eddy allow belief in a human selfhood to blind her to her great purpose of glorifying God by showing mortals His presence, power, and goodness, that they might be freed from the effects of their own limited concepts of Him. As she progressed in the work of establishing the Christian Science movement, our Leader saw the danger to the Cause which the glorification of human personality would place before her and her followers. Finally she withdrew from all public contacts in order to discourage this idolatrous tendency and carry on with as few interruptions as possible the great work yet to be done. How clearly she understood the truth she expresses in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 282), "Remember, it is personality, and the sense of personality in God or in man, that limits man."
While the aggressive efforts of individuals to forward their own selfish aims may sometimes seem to result in their gaining the attention of the world, one finds, as he pursues the study of Christian Science, that he does not know what life really is until he begins to rise above the belief in a selfhood apart from God and lives to glorify God rather than himself. Had Jesus believed that he could do anything of himself and had he desired the world's acclaim above his Father's glory, could he have raised Lazarus from the grave and accomplished his other great works? And would his teachings be remembered and be of value to us had his great ambition been merely to glorify human personality? How grateful we can be that the Master clearly saw that he could of himself do nothing and demonstrated that true glory is found in unselfed reflection.
Our Leader, too, would have accomplished little for the good of mankind had she sought her own glory. Without her understanding that man is God's spiritual idea reflecting the infinite power and capacities of the one Mind, and that human personality is only a counterfeit of the real man, who is God's image and likeness, she could not have given Christian Science to the world.
Through the study of this Science we learn the full implication of the spiritual truth that God is infinite, hence All-in-all. Many have in some measure recognized this fact, but have failed to see that God being All-in-all, that which expresses God cannot be apart from Him but is necessarily of Him and partakes of His nature. There can be nothing outside of infinity, so there is no other power or presence to be expressed. Furthermore, since God is infinite, He is Spirit. He could not be material, because matter is finite. Consequently, that which expresses God is spiritual. Man expresses all the qualities of God and cannot possibly express anything that is not included in God, because there is nothing outside of God.
In the light of the foregoing reasoning, we see that the human concept of the universe as material and of man as an individual, material personality is false. The infinite individuality that is God is reflected by individual spiritual man. All the ideas that compose the spiritual universe are necessary to the complete expression of God. This truth exalts and glorifies the individuality of the real man, for it shows that he is by reflection as perfect as God.
Any desire or effort to glorify a human selfhood is an indication that one does not clearly understand that he does nothing of himself, but that man reflects the activity of God. One who understands this great truth cannot be handled either by egotism or by self-depreciation. He knows that he can do nothing of himself; but because he reflects God's infinite ability, he reflects the capacity to do any right thing. The degree to which this infinite ability is manifested in our experience here and now is dependent upon our spiritual understanding. This understanding is gained through the study and practice of Christian Science.
When we are tempted to believe that worldly honors or positions, even positions in our branch churches, are something for which we should strive in order to advance ourselves, we may know that we are losing sight of the spiritual fact that in obedience to God alone lies honor. Pushing ourselves forward may for a while seem to bring us desired material advantages and a measure of prestige, but we shall eventually see the hollowness of such gains. On the other hand, when we devote our thought and efforts to spiritual growth and serving our fellow men, opportunities for ever greater service will come to us. Then we shall not be thinking in terms of human personalities, nor shall we be striving to glorify ourselves, but rather to glorify God.
Social position weighs heavily in the thinking of many. Some cultivate people of wealth and position and refuse to befriend others whom they think might stand in their way. Some join clubs or organizations with the hope that they will thereby be more respected in the eyes of their fellow men. The rebuke of the Master to the sons of Zebedee, James and John, when their mother asked that they might sit on his right hand and on his left when he came into his kingdom, is a rebuke to us if we seek to glorify a selfhood apart from God (see Matt. 20:20-28). Our Leader observes (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 268): "Two personal queries give point to human action: Who shall be greatest? and, Who shall be best? Earthly glory is vain; but not vain enough to attempt pointing the way to heaven, the harmony of being. The imaginary victories of rivalry and hypocrisy are defeats."
In the biography entitled "The Life of Mary Baker Eddy" by Sibyl Wilbur, we find on pages 305 to 311 (latest edition) some interesting comments regarding Mrs. Eddy's attitude toward the exalting of human personality and toward social functions and public demonstrations as means of advancing Christian Science. The chapter closes with the statement, "Public functions and such scenes of worldly ambition had much to do with a resolve which was growing in Mrs. Eddy's mind to withdraw entirely from public life that the adulation of her personality might cease and the truth she taught have opportunity to make its way through the work of her students."
As we recognize the allness of God, good, and man's true identity, we shall cease to strive for worldly position, power, or honor, and rather be content to live the truth that is revealed to us through the study of Christian Science. We shall think and live simply and graciously, and no longer believe that we can do or be anything of ourselves. Rather shall we know that we reflect the perfection and infinite goodness of God. Instead of trying to impress others with our human greatness and goodness, we shall be filled with the desire to let God be All-in-all to us. Our hearts will be overflowing with gratitude for His outpouring goodness. Then we too shall be able to raise the dead and heal instantaneously— not for the glorification of ourselves, but for the glory of God. This is living in accordance with God's purpose for man as revealed to the prophet Isaiah (43:7), "I have created him for my glory."
Thomas Carlyle has written this interesting statement: "The older I grow—and I now stand on the brink of eternity—the more comes back to me that sentence in the Catechism which I learned when a child, and the fuller and deeper its meaning becomes: 'What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy him forever.'" What does it mean to glorify God? Is it not to love Him supremely, to manifest His power, His wisdom, His abundance. His harmony, His perfection? And as John points out so clearly, our love for God is manifested in our love for our fellow men— not just some of them, but all mankind. In the words of Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians (10:31), "Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
