In the textbook of Christian Science, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy writes (pp. 40, 41), "The nature of Christianity is peaceful and blessed, but in order to enter into the kingdom, the anchor of hope must be cast beyond the veil of matter into the Shekinah into which Jesus has passed before us; and this advance beyond matter must come through the joys and triumphs of the righteous as well as through their sorrows and afflictions." We find that entrance into the kingdom requires right activity on our part and an individual effort to look beyond the material sense of things, as the Master did—to behold infinity and the truth of being, the perfection of God and of man as His image.
To follow in his footsteps we must understand that Jesus made no concessions to matter. He never became passive in his earnest pursuance of good. He knew that his oneness, or unity, with the Father was the actual fact of his being and that he was, in reality, the expression, the very manifestation, of true activity and the emanation of that which is wholly good. His "'advance beyond matter" was accompanied by the sorrows and afflictions of mortal belief; but by constantly abiding in the Shekinah of Spirit he brought to light the joys of the kingdom of heaven, which are ever at hand.
What is this Shekinah into which our anchor of hope must be cast and which is beyond the veil of matter? One meaning of the word Shekinah is "abode" or "dwelling." A modern dictionary of the Bible says, "As religious thought advanced to recognize that God is infinite and invisible Being, and that 'the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands' (Acts 7:48), the word Shekinah came to mean the radiant 'glory of the Lord, (which) filled the house of the Lord' (I Kings 8:11, 27)." This radiant light and glory of God's presence illumines our hope, and we rise into the realization of the allness and oneness of God.
Truly "the nature of Christianity is peaceful and blessed;" but our Leader did not advise us to be static in our thinking about it. She tells us what we must do to enter into the kingdom: we must cast the anchor of hope beyond the veil of matter. Our anchor of hope must rest firmly in the realization that God is All-in-all, that He is light and Mind, and that in Him there can be no darkness. This peacefulness and blessedness is attained through our faithful and active service in His vineyard and by our manifesting the Christ-consciousness in our human affairs.
Jesus, who has been called the Prince of Peace, said (Matt. 10: 34), "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." Peace, if it is complacency in earthly conditions, is less to be desired than suffering, because then it means stagnation and inactivity, which hide spirituality from view. Trials and tribulations awaken us to cast the anchor of our hope beyond matter and to seek reality from a spiritual instead of a material standpoint. False peace or any smugness in matter must be sacrificed; and the sword of the Spirit must be wielded for the sake of righteousness, that the glory of God may be seen upon earth.
In the Christian Science textbook (p. 595) "sword" is defined in part as, "The idea of Truth; justice." How many times throughout the history of Christianity do we find records of the overcoming of error by the ideas of Truth, or by the Word of God! If we are to cast our anchor of hope beyond matter, the weapons of our warfare against error must be spiritual rather than material. We must use the ever-unfolding ideas of Mind to help bring justice to the world. In the Bible, Paul says (II Cor. 10:3-5), "Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." Herein lie the pattern for Christian warfare and the means of establishing God's kingdom on earth.
It is important for mankind to realize that at the present stage of progress armies and navies are needed to guard our countries from aggression, hatred, and greed. But the spiritual impetus must still guide and direct men in the proper defense so that all mankind may be blessed. Every effort to follow the leading of divine Mind and to establish God's kingdom on earth will increase men's spiritual insight and discernment. As human thought is brought into obedience to Christ and peace and brotherly love are established in human consciousness, mankind will be guided out of discord and dismay into the spiritual abiding place, where only harmony reigns.
The advance beyond matter, we are told in the passage already quoted, comes "through the joys and triumphs of the righteous as well as through their sorrows and afflictions." Chemicalization of thought may accompany the overcoming of error by Truth, but it can be peaceful and blessed. When error is being forced to the surface of mortal thinking, the activity of Truth is being made manifest. Mind, being the source of all action, removes in proper manner the sorrows and afflictions of mortal mind. We should not murmur over error, nor should we give it entity. On the basis of God's allness we must handle error as nothing, rejoicing all the while in the activity of Truth.
Christian Science teaches us that salvation is individual, and it shows us that in redeeming our own life and character we are helping to bring salvation to the world. It teaches us how to bring to light the kingdom of God, which is within us and which is forever at hand. Every day can be a day of salvation for the Christian Scientist, because material pains and pleasures should daily be replaced by spiritual realities. Even though the passing away of material beliefs sometimes seems to be accompanied by defeats as well as triumphs, the earnest student recognizes these to be progressive footsteps and presses on toward the goal of Spirit. This forever coming of the Christ to the flesh casts out errors of all types and regenerates human consciousness. Truth is always active and forever expresses itself in perfect activity, dissolving the offensive beliefs of mortal mind.
True salvation comes to the world individually and collectively through the active and constructive utilization of spiritual ideas. Individuals do not have to go somewhere in order to enter into the kingdom; they find the kingdom of God within themselves. Christ Jesus said (Luke 17:20), "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." True salvation is going on within individual consciousness. It is the unfolding of spiritual ideas, the reflection of the Mind of Christ. It is the understanding and demonstration of the supremacy and allness of Life, Truth, and Love. It is the "bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."
True salvation takes place right where we are, and it operates in our human experiences, lifting us out of mortal frailties into the realization and recognition of the allness of Spirit. It is the recognition that man is already free, that the kingdom of God is at hand, and that salvation is here and now.
In our present world experiences we must be prepared to meet the seeming forces of evil with strength, and by consecrated and prayerful thinking we can do much to overcome them. Nothing can be more effectual in meeting the needs of a troubled world than the recognition and the utilization of the one Mind, which is God. Divine Mind governs the real universe and man; and as mankind understands the ideas which emanate from Mind, the impotence of error will be seen and the Christ will be lifted up in human consciousness. By demonstrating the allness and oneness of God, and by proving step by step our dominion over error, we shall see the anchor of our hope cast beyond matter and firmly grounded in Truth.
Mrs. Eddy writes (Science and Health, p. 291): "Universal salvation rests on progression and probation, and is unattainable without them. Heaven is not a locality, but a divine state of Mind in which all the manifestations of Mind are harmonious and immortal, because sin is not there and man is found having no righteousness of his own, but in possession of 'the mind of the Lord,' as the Scripture says."
