Christian Science shows us how to solve our problems, not evade them. It enables us to accept challenges. It is a way of life both invigorating and satisfying.
No man who walked this planet had more challenging problems than Christ Jesus. Quietly and with great assurance he met every one of them. This saying of his recorded in the Gospel of John tells us the secret of his success: "The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works."John 14:10; The Master's mighty works of healing were the outcome of his understanding of God and complete reliance on Him. He knew he reflected to the full the Mind that is God.
Mind is infinite and ever present. It is actually the Mind of every one of us. Mind manifests itself through ideas. From it flow all the intelligent answers to our problems, great or small. Holy thoughts come to us as we listen and pray. Then we know how to act and what to do.
Human will—or a false sense of selfhood embraced in a material body—is not the avenue through which Mind reveals itself. The mortal or fleshly mind must be subjugated and finally annihilated. This is a step-by-step process. It is a daily challenge to accept the ideas of Mind and to destroy the false beliefs of a selfhood apart from God. This spiritual activity is obedience to the first commandment and such obedience brings healing.
Christian Science studied and lived is an exhilarating experience. There are no dull moments, no periods of decline. Each day is a proving ground for the truth that being is spiritual and perfect. In the Christian Science textbook Mrs. Eddy tells us, "Materialistic hypotheses challenge metaphysics to meet in final combat."Science and Health, p.268; There is nothing more rewarding than to be challenging the belief that pleasure and security are dependent on matter.
We can overcome the mortal mind tendencies of greed, deceit, and craving for material ease. We can gain in exchange a wondrous expectation of spiritual good. This may mean accumulating fewer material things. Sometimes it can mean letting go of possessions. But the unspeakable serenity that comes through God's law operating in our lives through prayer and obedience is worth any human sacrifice. Accepting our status as spiritual identities in Mind, we can go forward confidently and overcome every challenge of evil, or of the belief of life in matter. God impels and directs our way. Only apathy and human will can appear to block our progress. Knowing we are not relying on physical strength or human endurance, we can experience the supporting might of Mind.
Recently my husband and I had to face a big challenge. We were living in a warm, sunny climate. We loved our home and humanly we seemed set for a life of sunshine and ease. Then came the challenge.
A new business was to be opened up in a cold, northern country, and my husband was asked to go there to establish it. This meant selling our house and starting all over again to set up a new home and make new friends. Instead of working in a well-established business, the move would involve going out to obtain new business. Could we do it? Yes, with God's law as revealed in Christian Science, we could accept the challenge.
Basically, we were being required to prove everything we knew about God's law in every direction. Our daily prayer was, "Father, what next, and how to accomplish it?" It was a case of fully acknowledging that Mind, God, governs our affairs. It was clearly seen that God is the master of all detail. Human will, human outlining, and human planning were subordinated in the many decisions that had to be made. God alone was acknowledged as the controller, governor, coordinator, and supplier of all good. God, we saw, knew no boundaries, no limits. Only mortals put up mental fences that would appear to stop the flow of good in human experience.
Speaking of the effect of the spirit of Truth on our motives, purposes, and affections, Mrs. Eddy writes: "By purifying human thought, this state of mind permeates with increased harmony all the minutiae of human affairs. It brings with it wonderful foresight, wisdom, and power; it unselfs the mortal purpose, gives steadiness to resolve, and success to endeavor."Miscellaneous Writings, p.204.
There was a time limit. But with every new challenge came the solution to meet it. When difficulties arose regarding the sale of the house because of new government regulations, a buyer was found who loved the property. In the new country the challenges were even greater, as there seemed to be no suitable property available. Listening to the still, small voice of Truth, we purchased a different type of house, which proved in every way better than what we had felt we needed. The garden was even more delightful than the one we had had to give up. The new business made a profit the first year and has continued to expand.
It is not always easy to accept a challenge to our way of life, especially when we are living comfortably in pleasant surroundings. "Let someone else take on the tough assignment," whispers mortal mind. "But think what you can prove of God's law in this experience," counters the angel of spiritual sense. The battle is waged in consciousness. When we conquer our fears and are willing to go forward trusting the Father, we discover great blessings in new fields of endeavor. Our grasp of Christian Science becomes stronger by proving what we know of God's law.
