Do we see a sinful man at times, perhaps a hateful or a sick man, or do we even seem to be such a man? By reversing the erroneous, material sense testimony, we can never find false qualities in man, for man is the expression of God. God, good, is ever present, and evil is never where God is; hence it is ever absent. Error occupies no space, for all space is filled with good, with God.
To reverse our way of thinking, we must let divine Mind rule our thoughts, knowing that God is the only Mind of man, the only Mind there is. We must subordinate material sense and cultivate spiritual sense, which alone can tell us the truth regarding anything and everything.
Mary Baker Eddy writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 120), "Science reverses the false testimony of the physical senses, and by this reversal mortals arrive at the fundamental facts of being." Since the testimony of the material senses is false to begin with, it should not be difficult, with persistent practice, for the student of Christian Science to know the very opposite of this falsity—to know what is true.
What are some of the fundamental facts at which mortals arrive when the Science of the Christ reverses error? Surely they must include perfect God, perfect man, perfect universe, and God's omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. To become aware of these facts reveals to us that all is well now and forever.
When one begins the study of Christian Science and realizes to some extent that evil is never true and that the opposite of evil is always true, he has discovered a wonderful and usable fact. Just think, evil never real; actually, nothing ever to be afraid of! With fear dispelled we are enabled to have a much greater sense of freedom and health than we ever had before. As we grow in understanding, we often make demonstrations of Science by asking, "What is the opposite, spiritual fact of the error confronting me?" and then holding to this spiritual fact till harmony is apparent.
If one ignorantly accepts a mathematical error, this does not make it true. One might suffer loss from accepting a mistake as true, but the loss is effaced as soon as the error is corrected. Without effort on our part, the truth corrects and reverses the error. In the same way, error can be reversed in all of our experiences.
To be undisturbed by error is an important step toward reversing it. Suppose error should say that we feel ill. Where is the suggestion coming from? Certainly not from God. It comes from lying, material sense, to which we must not give power.
Man expresses the perfection of God. This is basic truth. Error is always illusion. Health is spiritual, never in matter nor governed by matter. Thus, without pushing or struggling, we may find that Truth reverses error and establishes the fact that man reflects only health and good.
To seek truth in matter is like seeking good in evil. Truth is not in matter. Let us learn to behold man as God's idea, expressing goodness, righteousness, wisdom, health, wholeness, substance. In "Miscellaneous Writings" Mrs. Eddy says (pp. 60, 61), "Every material belief hints the existence of spiritual reality; and if mortals are instructed in spiritual things, it will be seen that material belief, in all its manifestations, reversed, will be found the type and representative of verities priceless, eternal, and just at hand."
Christ Jesus' awareness of good and its naturalness reversed error instantly. In the eighth chapter of Matthew we read of the leper who came to the Master and said (verse 2), "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." Jesus reached out "and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean." We read that immediately the man was cleansed of the leprosy.
Jesus did not see a diseased mortal whom everyone shunned and feared to touch. His pure thought instantly reversed the false picture. He saw God's own reflection. He touched the sufferer, presented Christ, Truth, to human consciousness, telling the leper to be clean, or, in other words, to recognize his real self as a son of God.
The false testimony of corporeal sense is error's only foundation and a very unstable one. When the foundation is torn away, the whole structure crumbles. We build upon a substantial, indestructible foundation when we cultivate spiritual sense by study and prayer, by selfless love for others, by reversing every negative thought, and thus we subdue false sense. When consciousness is uplifted to the realm of Spirit, we see God operating in all our affairs, gently, lovingly, and oh, so wisely!
Spirit created man; he is therefore not material, but spiritual, governed by spiritual laws. He is never separated from God. Material sense is not our master; we make it our servant by letting Truth reverse error. Fear and temptation are overcome when we reflect Love and refuse to respond to evil's suggestions.
A mother, a student of Christian Science, was confronted with the severe illness of her child. To frightened material sense, the conditions were alarming, presenting a picture of delirium, high fever, and hemorrhage. The mother knew that God did not make such conditions, that man, God's likeness, never had them, that they were not actually present, because they were falsities, erroneous beliefs.
She turned away from the physical testimony to spiritual evidence. She looked beyond the misrepresentation and saw only God and His reflection, the only real evidence in the case. Holding fast to the truth, she felt God's loving presence even before there was any outward change. Truth reversed the error, and in a short time the disease vanished. Others around her were surprised, for they had been waiting for the disease to run its course. It never had a course to run, for God had never created it.
The sooner we learn that Truth reverses error and that we must hold consistently and insistently to the truth, the sooner shall we have richer blessings in our lives. Our beloved Leader says (Science and Health, p. 442), "Neither animal magnetism nor hypnotism enters into the practice of Christian Science, in which truth cannot be reversed, but the reverse of error is true."
