"Few believe that Christian Science contains infinitely more than has been demonstrated, or that the altitude of its highest propositions has not yet been reached."The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 146; These are the words of Mrs. Eddy. She knew through revelation and demonstration that every last argument of life in matter must finally yield to the fact that Life is Spirit, wholly independent of matter for continuity and manifestation.
The world is hungry for that which materialism cannot give. As humanity awakens to its need for a more spiritual outlook and to the rich blessings which flow from spirituality, there will be an influx to Christian Science such as has not yet been known. This means that every Christian Scientist, every follower of the Master, Christ Jesus, has work to do, a task to be performed. And where do we begin? With ourselves of course. Mrs. Eddy says, "The strong cords of scientific demonstration, as twisted and wielded by Jesus, are still needed to purge the temples of their vain traffic in worldly worship and to make them meet dwelling-places for the Most High."Science and Health, p. 142; We need to purge our own consciousness of the subtle reliance on matter that tempts us all.
The overcoming of faith in matter is the self-immolation that alone enables us to purge the temple and lay our gift upon the altar. We sometimes superficially think, "Christian Science demands that I lay all my fears, my self-will, and my pleasant pet indulgences upon the altar." We feel this is the sacrifice we must make to gain spiritual understanding. But this is not the sacrifice. Faith in matter must go, in order that we may lay the perfect self, the lamb without blemish, upon the altar. Of old the Israelites were not allowed to get rid of their decrepit old sheep by laying them upon the altar! Not at all. They had to offer the lamb without blemish, the most perfect, the most valuable of the flock. So our self-immolation demands that we demonstrate our true identity, the spiritual nature and beauty of our being, our purity and wholeness. Nothing less is acceptable to the Father. This demonstration involves the total overcoming of a false sense of self. All the beliefs of birth, death, sensuality, fear, self-will, disease, sin—all that is unspiritual—must yield to the Christ. There must be total renunciation of this false sense, total yielding, that the man of God's creating may appear.
