WHEN I was a very little girl, I heard someone tell of a woman who went to a Christian Science practitioner protesting that she had not been healed after reading Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. "I read that textbook through five times," she said, "and I still am in need of healing."
"Here," replied the practitioner, "is a recipe for a cake. Take it home, read it through five times, and then show me the cake you have baked."
That simple illustration made a profound impression on me. Plainly, to have tangible results in everyday experience, each and every statement of truth we encounter must be put into practice. The truth of the real man, the image and likeness of God, must be applied in order to purify and elevate our lives. We cannot make a cake if we only read recipes, nor can we reap the harvest of Christian Science if we merely peruse its letter and speculate and enlarge upon its theory. Action not words, proof not profession, is the essence of scientific Christianity.
