One Sunday I was on my way to church. As it was still early, I decided to stop at a gas station to fill up. I filled the tank, paid, and, as I started the car, was surprised to see that the fuel gauge displayed an empty tank! How could that be possible? It was evident that my car’s dashboard was not correct. I had just filled the tank, yet the display showed the exact opposite. Because I was sure of the reality of the facts, I had no qualms about continuing on my way.
Drawing a parallel to this experience, we might ask ourselves: Can we always trust what we see? What is the reality underlying observable facts? A fuel gauge is a human invention that can sometimes fail, while the knowledge and wisdom that God bestows is unchanging, complete, always correct—because God is Spirit and is forever. So which should we trust? The physical senses or our innate spiritual sense—divine inspiration?
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, wrote the tenets of this Science in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. The first talks about the Bible: “As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life” (p. 497). But what would that inspired Word be? It is the Word in its spiritual sense, the divine message of Scripture, imparting inspiration that heals. It is the spiritual understanding of what was taught to us by Jesus and his disciples, by the prophets—by all who understood the truths about God and His creation and were able to prove the reality of God right here and now.
