In a recent Bible Lesson (on Love) a citation from Science and Health says "Christian Science is not an exception to the general rule, that there is no excellence without labor in a direct line. One cannot scatter his fire, and at the same time hit the mark. To pursue other vocations and advance rapidly in the demonstration of this Science, is not possible" (p. 457). Do you think this means that we can't succeed in healing until/unless we abandon our careers and devote all our time to studying Christian Science and praying?
A1 Christian Science is a way of thinking and exploring divine Truth that can be applied to any walk of life. Mary Baker Eddy's statement makes it clear that we cannot progress in our practice of healing unless we devote ourselves to the study of Christian Science. Healing is really just one aspect of correcting the errors of mortal sense with spiritual understanding, the understanding that comes from God and leads us to see our true spiritual nature. But it does take mental discipline to sift the chaff from the wheat, to recognize and to stand up to false suggestions about ourselves and others. In other words, to recognize our spiritual and perfect selfhood. Sometimes we may be good at this, or sometimes it might be more of a challenge. Maybe the mortal evidence seems so real or perhaps we are distracted by other things going on in our lives.
In the Middle Ages, society was very rigid. To approach God, people needed the Church to intercede for them. Books were handwritten, rare, and valuable, and generally written in Latin. These obstacles must have made God's help and guidance seem remote and unobtainable. But the opening of thought that we call the Reformation coincided with the introduction of printing, and people were able to read the Bible for themselves and discover their own relationship with their heavenly Father. This brought tremendous advancement in thought, which, once grasped, would never be let go.
