AFTER Jesus had fed the five thousand and walked on the Sea of Tiberias towards Capernaum the people, impressed by his spiritual dominion over commonly accepted material laws, asked him (John 6:28), "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?"
And Jesus replied, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."
Mrs. Eddy refers to the meaning of this word "believe" in a different, though not dissimilar, context. She invites us in "Miscellaneous Writings" to see what it means to believe, and says (p. 197): "It means more than an opinion entertained concerning Jesus as a man, as the Son of God, or as God; such an action of mind would be of no more help to save from sin, than would a belief in any historical event or person. But it does mean so to understand the beauty of holiness, the character and divinity which Jesus presented in his power to heal and to save, that it will compel us to pattern after both; in other words, to 'let this Mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.' (Phil. ii. 5.)"
As Christian Scientists we all want to "work the works of God." But sometimes we seem to get stuck. Perhaps we find it hard to regain lost enthusiasm, or we may feel that the person we have to work with or the sort of work we have to do prevents us from accomplishing what we should like to. But Christian Science teaches that it is always in our thinking that the correction first needs to take place and that a true concept of God as the one infinite, divine Mind, and of man as His image and likeness, as exemplified by Jesus, will both ennoble our work and enable us to advance in His service.
The people asked, "What shall we do?" and Jesus' reply to "believe on him whom he hath sent" implied that what was needed was a correct concept of the Christ, which reveals the ideal man—his God-derived power and his God-impelled function.
Suppose, then, that it is our job which seems to be the trouble. I once held an uncongenial job. The work seemed drab and other people uncooperative. I felt that I had been placed in an unfair position and that, as a result, I was neither giving satisfaction to my employers nor advancing in my demonstration of Science. So I went to a practitioner and asked, "What shall I do?"
And in rather the same way that Jesus lifted the thought of the people, he lifted my thought to the spiritual facts of the situation. He showed me that wherever I was, my real job was to reflect God, Life, Truth, Love, in vitality, in integrity, and in love to my fellows. And he showed me that in this manner I would be seeking first the kingdom of heaven and that both the firm and I would reap the benefits.
My attention was called to this requirement in the Manual of The Mother Church by Mrs. Eddy (Art. VIII, Sect. 6): "It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion, and not be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God, to his Leader, and to mankind."
I learned that if I started with God and acknowledged Him to be infinite and supreme good—the Mind of man and hence my Mind—I was immediately in His service and that I would see the nobility of my work. Whatever the human requirements of my job were, I could follow our Leader's teachings and draw upon God for intelligence, honesty, friendliness, executive ability. But I must cherish the source of my abilities, for the devil, as represented by the whole range of material thinking, would constantly try to make me forget my son ship with God.
This particular problem of mine worked out in a wonderful way, enabling me to demonstrate success out of apparent failure. And it was proved that it was neither the circumstances nor my employers but my thinking which needed to be changed that I might do better work.
Putting God before the material circumstances is just as important if we seem to be the victim of a stubborn claim of sickness. Let us start not with the claim but with God. If we see God, who is Love, as the cause, not the judge, of man, we shall see man as spiritual, loving, and content; and this concept, protected and cherished by daily work, will spiritualize our thinking and lift us out of the material condemnation we feared.
The people asked Jesus, "What shall we do?" The human mind is always urging us to do something and finds it hard to comprehend that the solution of all problems, physical and mental, lies more in the realm of spiritual knowing than in material doing.
This is illustrated in the account of a healing of Mrs. Alice Swasey Wool, recorded by Clifford P. Smith in "Historical Sketches" (p. 69). Mrs. Wool relates that she went to see our Leader about abdominal pains which the doctor had been unable to relieve. She says: "Mrs. Eddy opened the door herself and invited me in. I told her what seemed to be the matter, and she talked with me a few minutes and then said, 'Now we won't talk any more.' She closed her eyes and sat with her hands in her lap for about ten minutes. Then she said, 'You will not have that trouble any more,' and I said, 'Aren't you going to rub me, or do anything?' and she said, 'You are healed,' and I was."
Christian Science today is doing many wonderful works of redemption and healing. It reveals the Principle of Jesus' work, so that all who will may "pattern after" the character and divinity which he presented.
What, then, "shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" Must we change our locality, our membership in this or that organization, or our employment in order to do so? Not necessarily. Christian Science bids us to "believe on him whom he hath sent"; to recognize God as All and man as His spiritual expression. It bids us to shield resolutely this spiritual effort from the interference of the carnal mind. Then we shall prove through success in our job, or through healing where it may be needed, that we too can "work the works of God" for ourselves and for others.
