WE sometimes hear it said, "If only the true, practical Christianity of Jesus' day could be with us today, universal understanding and harmony would reign!" That true Christianity—the pure, undefiled, and spiritually joyous way of thinking and living of the primitive Christians—is indeed here today and is clearly revealed in Christian Science. This truly wonderful fact is being proved daily by thousands of consecrated students of this Science. By banishing sin, disease, and death through spiritual means alone, these students are actually fulfilling the Master's prophecy (Mark 16: 17, 18): "These signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Ministering to the most intimate and common needs of men, Jesus provided obvious and undisputable proof of the presence and power of the Christ, God's idea.
Mary Baker Eddy writes in the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 98): "The prophet of to-day beholds in the mental horizon the signs of these times, the reappearance of the Christianity which heals the sick and destroys error, and no other sign shall be given."
How grateful are Christian Scientists for the clear, prophetic vision of their Leader! They well know how in the year 1866, when apparently near death as the result of an accident, Mrs. Eddy received a spiritual revelation. In that moment the mental horizon opened before her and revealed the Christ, Truth, the impersonal Saviour. She arose from her bed healed.
In this vital experience Mrs. Eddy beheld "the reappearance of the Christianity which heals the sick and destroys error." She knew that she had witnessed the actual power and presence of the Christ, that the Christ was just as effectual then as in Jesus' time. From that day she devoted her whole life to the discovery of the divine laws of God, and she proved their practical application in the healing of all human woe. To her ever-questing gaze there gradually dawned the true nature of God and man.
How could this wonderful revelation be conveyed clearly and correctly to mankind? Mrs. Eddy was conscious of the importance of the written word, for she devoted herself to committing to paper the great spiritual truths as they came to her from God. She labored to state in understandable terms the pure, simple, yet deeply profound teachings of primitive Christianity with its regenerative, healing power. Eventually these writings were published and became the Christian Science textbook. Referring to her book, Mrs. Eddy says in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 239), "The Science of the Scriptures coexists with God; and 'Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures' relegates Christianity to its primitive proof, wherein reason, revelation, the divine Principle, rules, and practice of Christianity acquaint the student with God."
What deep reverence and gratitude we feel for our Leader when we realize the full significance of her discovery! Her selfless consecration and God-inspired ability to write Science and Health have given to the world the book which, with the Bible, stands unequaled in the annals of literature.
John on Patmos foretold the manner in which the final and complete revelation of Truth was to reach mankind. He records (Rev. 10:8), "The voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth." Referring to this passage of the Revelator, Mrs. Eddy writes (Science and Health, p. 559): "Mortals, obey the heavenly evangel. Take divine Science. Read this book from beginning to end. Study it, ponder it. It will be indeed sweet at its first taste, when it heals you; but murmur not over Truth, if you find its digestion bitter."
Let us "take divine Science." Let us read Science and Health humbly and gratefully, without prejudice or preconception. Let us weigh each word and sentence carefully in the scale of reason, justice, honesty, and sincerity. If we do this prayerfully, with pure motives and with a quiet, listening, expectant attitude, we shall receive abundantly of its unlimited spiritual treasures. This study will destroy every belief in error and discord. Then, as we progressively accept the Mind of Christ, we shall witness the gradual annihilation of so-called mortal mind with its host of sinful tendencies. When we partake of Truth, its digestion may be bitter. But we should rejoice all the more, since the belief in matter and mortality is being put off for a clearer understanding of Spirit and immortality.
Our divinely inspired textbook reveals the nothingness of matter, evil, and hatred and the absolute allness of God as Spirit, Love. It unveils the falsity of material sense and shows forth the actuality of spiritual sense. It unlocks the hitherto hidden treasures of the Bible so that we can discern their logical and spiritually vital healing messages. It is fulfilling Isaiah's prophetic words (29: 18), "In that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness."
Everywhere today there is a deep longing for a higher peace, a more logical and spiritually satisfying sense of things. That this universal prayer is already being answered was proved in the experience of a young airman in World War II.
Not knowing of Christian Science, he felt a growing conviction that the pure Christianity of Christ Jesus, with its vital, practical, spiritual truths of God and man, was largely lost to the world. He reasoned that the only way these truths could be restored and made available to mankind was in the form of a book. But how any individual could derive sufficient, clear understanding in order to compile such a book was beyond his comprehension. Such a task would be a stupendous undertaking, far beyond the narrow scope of ordinary human endeavor.
A few months later Science and Health was placed in the airman's hands for the first time. How overjoyed he was when he realized that here, already written, was the very book for which he had felt such dire need! As he studied the book and learned to apply the truths of Christian Science, these words of the prophet Ezekiel began to be realized in his experience (34:16): "I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick."
Science and Health is indeed unique. It is the complete statement of Christian Science, setting forth the final, absolute truth as revealed to Mrs. Eddy. Hence the revelator and her revelation are inseparable. No other author and no other book can replace them. Their mission is universal; their promise, the hope of mankind.
Let us make Science and Health our own, meditate upon it deeply, and live the priceless truths of Christian Science. As we steadfastly do this, the ever-present heavenly kingdom will unfold in our waiting thought. And then, exemplifying our Master's promise, we "shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
