WHEN an accident happened in the presence of the Apostle Paul, he resorted to divine metaphysics, not to physics. It will be recalled that a young man named Eutychus, having fallen asleep during a long talk by Paul, fell from a third-story window and was taken up dead. But the apostle went down and spoke to those who stood about, shocked and frightened. He quieted the fear-filled human thought, reversed its acceptance of tragedy, gave assurance that Eutychus was not hurt, and stated the reason why. "Trouble not yourselves," he said to them, "for his life is in him" (Acts 20:10).
Paul, a Christian Scientist would assume, must have known that God, divine Mind, is All-in-all and that man, His spiritual image and likeness, embodies life and has his entire being in Mind, not in matter. Paul's clear understanding of these fundamental metaphysical propositions must have overruled the mortal belief in physics, namely the supposition that life and intelligence exist in matter, subject to destruction by material forces. The record states, "They brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted."
Nearly nineteen centuries later, when Mrs. Eddy published Science and Health, the textbook of divine metaphysics, she set forth the rule which Paul must have followed with such perfect results. On page 397 she explains that the thought or exclamation that we are hurt does more than the accident itself to make an injury seem real. The remedy, she says, lies in reversing this mental process. The rule follows: "Declare that you are not hurt and understand the reason why, and you will find the ensuing good effects to be in exact proportion to your disbelief in physics, and your fidelity to divine metaphysics, confidence in God as All, which the Scriptures declare Him to be."
Students of Christian Science are learning to apply this rule to destroy the seeming reality of every untoward event, whether it be called accident, damage, loss, sudden fear, pain, hurt feelings, or by any other name. Especially are they learning the necessity of unwavering fidelity to divine metaphysics.
In divine metaphysics, God, Mind, is All-in-all. He is infinite intelligence and consciousness, and there is no other mind. He is the only substance. He is the one power. He is self-existent, constituting and sustaining all being. There is no other causation, for God, Mind, is the sole Principle of the universe. In divine Science, there is nothing in addition to God, who is wholly good.
In divine metaphysics, there is no matter. Consequently, there is no material substance or power, no material intelligence or law, no material cause or effect. Metaphysics regards matter as a concept of erring human thought. In repudiating matter and its theories, metaphysics excludes all evil. For without matter, evil—be it danger, disaster, or destruction—has no basis of operation. This is a vital point in metaphysics.
In divine metaphysics, man is idea, the creation of Mind. He is the son of God. His identity is spiritual consciousness, and he exists only in Mind, never in matter. Therefore man is governed exclusively by divine Mind and reflects the harmony, joy, freedom, and perfection of God's being.
Christ Jesus was the master Metaphysician. He never resorted to physics but adhered unfalteringly and constantly to the Science of being. His absolute fidelity to God as the divine Principle of this Science, as well as his strict obedience to its rules, produced the results he consistently attained —instantaneous and complete healings. Among the rules which he left for us to follow is the familiar one which points out the necessity, if good effects are to ensue, of being constant in our fidelity to divine metaphysics. "If ye continue in my word," he declared, "then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31, 32).
When an accident happens, we, as students of Christian metaphysics, turn completely away from matter to acknowledge the presence and control of one supreme, perfect Mind. We know that in the universe of Mind, or divine Truth, there is not a single element of error, nothing to produce or project an accident or any baneful effect— no such thing as ignorance, carelessness, oversight, chance, breakdown, stupidity. Therefore we know that any belief in an accident must be false, any evidence of one must be an illusion of the physical senses. We know that because of our sonship with God, we may utilize the infallible and irresistible power of Mind to rule out any delusive, material belief, no matter how real, stubborn, or dangerous it may appear. Because of our confidence in God as All, we unhesitatingly and persistently rely upon the power of Truth to set us free from every false sense of discord and to re-establish the true sense of harmony, strength, useful activity, and happiness.
While at play, a young girl fell and cut a deep gash in her forehead. Her mother, who had recently begun the study of Christian Science, could not stanch the flow of blood. But instead of calling a doctor, as had been her custom in past emergencies, she sent for a Christian Science practitioner who lived nearby. Upon learning of the accident, the practitioner started to run up the street to her neighbor's house. But immediately she stopped running, for she realized that man is spiritual, not material, not made up of flesh and blood. She knew that God, divine Mind, being All and ever present, was at that very moment in control of the situation. She knew that there was nothing within Mind to have caused an accident, that no injury had really occurred, that therefore the child of God was unharmed.
Her quick refusal to believe in an accident and her fidelity to divine metaphysics brought prompt and good results. For as she entered the room where the youngster and her mother were, the bleeding suddenly ceased, and the ugly wound began to close of itself. The healing was so complete that by nightfall only a small scar remained, and this shortly disappeared.
On page 369 of "Miscellaneous Writings," our beloved Leader gives us this assurance: "Metaphysics, not physics, enables us to stand erect on sublime heights, surveying the immeasurable universe of Mind, peering into the cause which governs all effects, while we are strong in the unity of God and man." When once we have surveyed the infinite universe of Mind and have beheld the absolute power of Mind and the perfect control it exercises over us and all that concerns us, disbelief in physics is natural, fidelity to divine metaphysics is normal, and "the ensuing good effects" are inevitable.
