To an unscientific viewpoint, the dawn might appear to be caused by the light of the sun getting brighter or by the darkness being driven back. The first would imply that the intensity of the sun's light is variable. The second would give priority to darkness, making it a self-existent entity that has within itself the power to resist light, and that must first be subdued before light can be admitted. Thanks to astronomical science, we do not believe that the sun's light really grows brighter, nor do we accept the notion that darkness has any innate power.
To natural science, dawn is the result of the earth's gradual movement into the unvarying light of the sun. According to Christian Science, healing results from the submission of human thought to the eternal light of God, or Mind. This divine light is universal and self-existent, and it is fully expressed in man's true selfhood as God's spiritual image.
Human experience, with its mixture of good and evil, expresses an imperfect sense of God and man, darkened by belief in God's absence or opposite. It only hints at the substance of spiritual reality, or real substance. Yet the good in human experience is evidence of God's presence, of that which is enduring in our lives. Mrs. Eddy writes reassuringly: "All that is beautiful and good in your individual consciousness is permanent. That which is not so is illusive and fading." Unity of Good, p. 8.
How does this apply to physical healing? The human body is actually a mental concept, the projection of the fallible mentality we call the human mind. For healing in the truest, fullest sense, then, attention needs to be directed not toward physical symptoms but to the purification of thought, to the realization that man is, in truth, God's perfect image and has never been less than that.
To the Christian Scientist, prayer for health involves an earnest desire to reflect more of the purity and the natural consciousness of harmony that come from God, divine Mind. As the illumination of spiritual understanding pervades human thought, the body can no more resist its own healing than darkness can resist the dawn. But we should not forget that the purpose of such prayer is to prove the uninterrupted perfection of Mind and its spiritual idea, man, rather than to manipulate material conditions. When healing comes we are demonstrating the immutable, spiritual facts of being, not truer or healthier matter! Improvement of the human sense of things is the natural effect of praying from this higher stand-point of man's perfection as God's reflection.
We do not think or speak of darkness as "improving," and yet how readily we tend to refer to some discordant condition as "getting better." Of course, our experience does get better as a result of prayer. We need to watch, however, that we're not inadvertently accepting the notion that outward conditions have priority in the order of things, and that they have it in their power to determine the pace and extent of healing. Such a standpoint would put harmony at the mercy of material conditions and delude us into believing that we must wait on matter to confirm spiritual truth.
Watching the physical body to see how health is coming along is like asking matter for permission to acknowledge the all-presence of God, Spirit! Holding fast to the truth of God's all-presence, on the other hand, serves to correct the error which suggests that ill health can be an actual, potent presence; and this change of thought is reflected in a healthier body.
The material senses would have us believe that sickness is a concrete reality and that healing is a process whereby physicality is improved. Through spiritual sense, however, we discern man's God-given perfection, untouched by sickness. And we realize that healing through prayer isn't a question of changing matter but of awaking to the truth of our wholly spiritual being and letting God, or Soul, assert His supremacy.
Sickness cannot defy the law of God, cannot delay or obstruct its constant operation, any more than darkness can fight a rear-guard action against the advance of light. No matter what the pretensions of evil may be, they are, in reality, powerless and cannot stand in the face of spiritual truth. In Unity of Good Mrs. Eddy describes Jesus' scientific method: "Jesus stooped not to human consciousness, nor to the evidence of the senses. He heeded not the taunt, 'That withered hand looks very real and feels very real;' but he cut off this vain boasting and destroyed human pride by taking away the material evidence.... Jesus required neither cycles of time nor thought in order to mature fitness for perfection and its possibilities." Ibid., p. 11.
In confronting sin, we need to challenge the aggressive argument that the human character, with its willfulness and sometimes perversity, is a stubborn Goliath, able to resist the divine call for regeneration. We should go forth "in the name of the Lord of hosts," I Sam. 17:45. armed with the moral courage that comes from understanding the actuality of man's true, incorruptible identity. In Science, man is the reflection of God, good; therefore any sense of man as both good and evil, no matter how persuasive or arrogant it may seem, must be a misconception.
Yes, mortals can sometimes appear very evil. But a sinful mortal isn't the reality of man. It isn't anyone's true selfhood. Knowing this, we won't be deceived by evil's claims, and we can intelligently reject them as having no power to prevent us from living in conformity with Christ, Truth.
Sticking with the spiritual fact does not, of course, imply turning a blind eye to error. A Christian Scientist does not ignore evil or neglect the mental work required to conquer evil any more than a mathematics teacher would ignore his pupils' mistakes or avoid correcting them. Actually, the teacher's knowledge of mathematics makes his pupils' errors selfevident. He is not fooled by them—and he does not overtook them—but neither does he try to improve them. Instead, he conscientiously proves the specific rule that shows them to be baseless. In this way he contributes, step by step, to his students' progress. So, in Christian Science practice, it is the understanding of God, or Truth, that uncovers whatever needs correcting, reveals its falsity, and gives impulse to healing.
Such an understanding is not achieved all at once or without effort. It may involve persistent study, prayer, and purification of thought. The struggle, however, lies in understanding and expressing the actual, spiritual sense of being, rather than in striving to manipulate or improve an illusive, material concept of things.
When the claims of evil appear widespread and aggressive to us, we may feel appalled and, at times, discouraged. In describing tumultuous times, Christ Jesus spoke of "men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." If we give uncritical credence to the images of evil, our hearts may well quail within us. But Jesus redirected thought with the assurance, "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Luke 21:26, 28. The light of Truth is not only uncovering the hidden errors of mortal thought but also expanding humanity's God-given capabilities for good.
We should go forth "in the name of the Lord of hosts," armed with the moral courage that comes from understanding the actuality of man's true, incorruptible identity. In Science, man is the reflection of God, good.
Even in the case of worldwide troubles, then, we can be alert to the signs of the times and interpret them correctly. The material senses suggest that human progress must grow out of mortal mind's unaided efforts to improve its own darkened sense of existence. Spiritual sense, however, insists that progress springs from the irresistible activity of God's grace, enlightening human consciousness and proving the immanence of His power and love.
