One inevitable result of the study and application of Christian Science is the purifying of human character. Indeed, if this is not happening, it would be wise to examine the depths of one's dedication. Purification involves change, and change often promotes mental upheaval—sometimes leaving regret in its wake that the process was not effected with less turmoil. Mrs. Eddy writes: "God is a consuming fire. He separates the dross from the gold, purifies the human character, through the furnace of affliction. Those who bear fruit He purgeth, that they may bear more fruit." Miscellaneous Writings, p. 151;
People may find themselves with uncomfortable memories, things they would much rather forget. Remorse, regret, tragic memories, can be handled effectively and harmoniously in Christian Science. In the process of refining metal no one would think of preserving the dross; the impurity is always discarded. Similarly, in the process of purifying the human character we need not hold on to those many guises of personal sense that often come to the surface to be self-seen and destroyed in times of mental chemicalization.
The deep desire for progress may disturb one's habitual patterns of thought, and one could well find himself in the middle of agitated circumstances. However, to claim the resultant blessings, we need only treasure the revealed good and see the mistakes and misapprehensions about ourselves and others for what they are—impersonal evil that would have to get a hold in consciousness in order to have any identity or any influence.
Paul apparently put aside regret for his mistakes in having persecuted the Christians. He had been convinced he was acting rightly. The severity of the upheaval when he discovered that what he thought had been right was really wrong had resulted in his being afflicted with blindness. What immense gratitude he must have felt when his thought was opened to the Christ and when his vision was restored! Much later he was able to say, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Phil. 3:13 14;
As we progress and change, our highest sense of right also changes, and this in itself is cause for great gratitude. Let us not be robbed of this blessing by lingering in regret over the heat of the consuming fire that may have been necessary to effect the purification.
Symptoms of physical sickness are often the means of alerting us to the need for some kind of purification of thought. Two friends, both Christian Scientists, prayed diligently together when one of them was suddenly attacked by alarming symptoms of illness. Many powerful messages from God came to their thought and were audibly affirmed and accepted as true. During the time it took to effect the healing, several situations and conditions that had been troubling the one afflicted were brought to the surface. These were faced and seen to be nothing more than a belief in a mortal sense of things, quite separate from the pure consciousness of the real, God-created man, which constituted her true identity. When the healing came, both clearly saw gratitude for the healing presence of God as the quality to cherish. The human belief of imperfection, manifested as symptoms of sickness, was seen as the impurity to be totally discarded and dismissed forever.
Christ Jesus said, "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."Luke 9:62; Those who love God and work to exemplify His goodness in their lives have in effect put their hands to the plough. They learn step by step that with God there is no past; He is the eternal, infinite, and immutable divine Principle of man, who reflects Him in constant spiritual perfection, unclouded by the beliefs of a passage of time littered with human mistakes and failings. It is important to hold to the perfect now, and not to look forward or backward with apprehension.
We have the ability to fill this moment with our present knowledge of perfect God, manifesting perfect man. The perhaps painful events of the past belong to a belief only—an erroneous belief that man is a mortal, living in flesh and capable of being unhappily influenced by time and memories. This belief is obliterated by the understanding of spiritual, incorporeal identity. And if this belief also includes memories of an unhappy childhood, these, too, can be rooted out and discarded as worthless.
The human process of forgetting or deliberately ignoring a problem that occurred in what is known as the past does not heal. Time cannot heal. Thoughtful recognition of the timeless nature of God and of man heals. Mrs. Eddy writes: "Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear,—this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony. The purification of sense and self is a proof of progress." Science and Health, p. 324.
There have probably been occasions in the lives of most of us when we could have done better in working out various problems. But human existence is a learning experience. The impurities in human character are more easily recognized and can be ousted with less struggle and turmoil as we become more proficient in discerning clearly the true nature of man as God made him. Then the grace of a refined character remains to be more warmly cherished.
