I once told a spiritually mature friend of mine that I had finished reading the weekly Bible Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly. He replied, “Oh? I am just on the first section!”
It’s tempting to enjoy the spiritual concepts in the Bible and the writings of Mary Baker Eddy while reading about them, but then allow them to drift out of thought. But my friend had been deeply studying those profound truths and soaking them in. He was taking them up and allowing them to become part of his thought.
When the sun comes up in the morning, most of us open our curtains and let the glorious sunshine in. It is satisfying to see that light. But it’s even more fulfilling to open the door and bask in the sunshine for a few minutes.
This analogy applies to our need for the light of Truth. In the stillness that allows us to soak in the inspiration that comes from God, we grasp and understand—not just observe—the fullness of God’s love for His precious creation. And while we can’t carry sunshine with us to warm someone else, the heavenly inspiration we imbibe enables us to bless others, too.
When we have a flash of inspiration, do we just stand there and allow that new or deeper concept to float on by?
Maybe this is why one day I was so struck by the Bible’s account of Elisha and the lost ax head (see II Kings 6:1–7). Elisha was helping his companions with a building project, when the head of an ax one of them was using fell into the river. Elisha must have prayed and understood that God’s abundant love supplies all needs, because the iron ax head floated to the surface! Perhaps because this was against the laws of physics, his companion just stood there. Elisha had to tell him, “Take it up to thee,” before the man took it.
Why was it important to the biblical account to include this detail? Maybe Elisha’s companion was so surprised or fearful or baffled that he was just going to stand there gaping at the floating ax head instead of picking it up to use it, and Elisha had to rouse him so that he would reach out and grab it. When we have a flash of inspiration, do we just stand there and allow that new or deeper concept to float on by? Or do we reach out mentally and catch hold of it—make it our own and allow it to be applied in our practice going forward?
In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mrs. Eddy instructs us: “Take divine Science. Read this book from beginning to end. Study it, ponder it” (p. 559). According to Webster’s 1828 dictionary, to ponder is “to weigh in the mind” or “to view with deliberation; to examine.” And to study is “to apply the mind to; to read and examine for the purpose of learning and understanding.” This instruction from Science and Health, to me, is another way of saying, “Take it up to thee”—take the time to bring the fresh inspiration deep into thought and right into your experience, allowing it to be expressed in your thinking and actions.
In her sermon The People’s Idea of God, Mrs. Eddy says, “The beatings of our heart can be heard; but the ceaseless throbbings and throes of thought are unheard, as it changes from material to spiritual standpoints” (p. 1). When inspiration comes from something we’ve read, let’s not leave the truth sitting on the page. The discipline of examining that new truth more closely brings the light of inspiration into our heart and allows us to grasp and apply it, not just observe it.
There is a beautiful account in the chapter “Fruitage” in Science and Health that illustrates this idea of pondering. The testifier relates reading a passage in Science and Health about not just believing in God but understanding Him. The testifier then says: “I saw that I must get the right understanding of God! I closed the book and with head bowed in prayer I waited with longing intensity for some answer. How long I waited I do not know, but suddenly, like a wonderful burst of sunlight after a storm, came clearly this thought, ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’ I held my breath—deep into my hungering thought sank the infinite meaning of that ‘I.’ All self-conceit, egotism, selfishness, everything that constitutes the mortal ‘I,’ sank abashed out of sight” (p. 669).
It may take discipline to cultivate the habit of inner stillness, but the reward for sticking with it is immense.
Often, daily life works against cultivating the inner stillness so necessary to take in a new idea. We allow pressing business, distractions, and lack of commitment to keep us from sitting with our head bowed in prayer, waiting with sincere longing to have a truth or spiritual concept come clearly to our thought. At moments when we feel that our chores, our email, our responsibilities, don’t permit the quiet pondering of a fresh perception, it’s helpful to heed Elisha’s words: “Take it up to thee.” Rouse thought to recognize the need for a few more minutes of tranquil listening for the inspiration of a certain passage. Don’t let it float on by to maybe be retrieved at a later date.
It may take discipline to cultivate the habit of inner stillness, but the reward for sticking with it is immense. That deep pondering of the truth changes our standpoint from matter-based to Spirit-based thinking. Just as taking up the ax head was so important for Elisha’s companion, grabbing hold of spiritual insights brings out their real value and moves our thought heavenward.
