Articles

Can any of us honestly say that we always have obeyed willingly the demands of God? Haven't we at times dillydallied in mental lukewarmness, or even willfully disobeyed His laws? If this cap fits, we doubtless have experienced the painful or limiting results of our shortcomings—and these results may have acted as goads that have forced spiritual growth by propelling us out of lethargy or rebellion into a humble willingness to listen to and obey God's voice. The old saying "once bitten, twice shy" then takes on added meaning.

Faithful witnessing to Life's ceaseless power to be and to supply perpetual evidence requires an unselfish desire to comprehend the deathless identity of ourselves and others as spiritual ideas rather than material personalities. The true consciousness of man as the timeless expression of infinite Life comes as we give up the mortal concept of man as a physique who can disappear or be lost to us.

Perfect matter is an impossibility because only God is perfect and God is Spirit. Matter is Spirit's opposite and nothing.

Over recent decades there has been a widespread revival of interest in mental methods of healing, both inside and outside the churches. Some churches that until quite recently refused to consider the possibility of spiritual healing in our times are currently pursuing the subject.

"Know thyself!" These significant words of ancient Greek wisdom can be interpreted in two ways: as a command to know the grandeur of one's true, spiritual selfhood, or as a warning to recognize the shortcomings and limitations of the false mortal concept of one's being. When the Pharisees asked Jesus about the coming of the kingdom of God, he answered that the kingdom does not come by watching for it, and added, "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Christ Jesus revealed the mental nature of all things. He proved by healing "all manner of disease" and by quieting a storm with the words "Peace, be still" that matter does not limit man.

Reading aloud is an important activity for the Christian Scientist. The beautiful, inspiring words of the Bible and Mrs.

You don't ever have to feel hemmed in —by your job, or personal relationships, or finances, or by the lack of opportunity to be the "great" person you know you are. Your identity really is spiritual.

Much time, effort, and love are usually put into the preparatory work for a Christian Science lecture. But while our efforts toward planning for the lecture are necessary and proper, we can do still more.

Like a weather vane swinging back and forth, a parent's feelings may alternate between hope and despair if he judges his children's future in Christian Science by their present, perhaps variable, disposition toward it. But there is a better way to approach the question, "Will they become Christian Scientists?" It is one that can bring peace to a parent through all the joyful, challenging years of childraising.