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JOHN B. HOUGH
"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (1 John 5: 12.) How can we let our light "shine before men" if we have not Life? "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." (Gal. 5: 25.) Spiritual power is what many have been striving to attain, and, it would seem, with but poor success. It has been thought that there were two powers always warring against each other, but now, in the nineteenth century comes Christian Science to reveal the Truth to those who are willing to see it, who are willing to accept it, who are willing to live it, who are willing to be made "new creatures," who are willing to become "Sons of God," who are willing to "walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." And how are we to do this? By putting down self and all false personality, by realizing that it is unreal, by knowing and understanding that "God is all." When we come to an understanding of this, we then have spiritual power that enables us to destroy the fruits of the flesh, pride, envy, malice, hatred, passion, selfishness, and it enables us to bring out the "fruits of the Spirit, — Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." Now "the greatest of these is Love." Love is the foundation stone — the root — the life of the tree that bears these fruits. "Love is the fulfilling of the law." Love is God. "Love never faileth." (1 Cor. 13: 8.) And this understanding gives us not only a willingness to work for the Master, to follow in the footsteps of him who "went about doing good," but it gives us the desire and the strength and the ability, the spiritual power to help others. Not only shall we thus be a blessing to others, but we shall ourselves have a peace and joy that the world knows not of. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee." (Isa. 26: 3.) Then too, Christian Science teaches a practical religion. When we come to a full realization of the fact that God is our wisdom, our knowledge, our all; that when we "seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, all these things shall be added" (Matt. 6: 33) — then, and not till then, shall we know or appreciate our capacities in both mental and physical spheres. We shall then find not only that spiritual things are made clearer to us, but our perception of any or all subjects that may present themselves, will be found to be greatly enlarged. We shall accomplish more, and with less fatigue, and require less rest or repose. We shall cease to let fear rule over us. "I will fear no evil: for thou art with me." We will not wear ourselves out taking "anxious thought," worrying and fretting over what may come to pass, for "All things work together for good to them that love God." Let us claim more and more of Truth; advance in the understanding; demonstrate Principle, and we shall not have to seek opportunities for doing good. Our work will be shown to us. We need to watch lest we fail to improve the opportunities we have. We need spiritual power to discern the "signs of the times"; to know when to sow the seed and when to thrust in the sickle; when to speak and when to hold our peace. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God." It may not be ours to preach from the pulpit of some church, but we can and must preach Christ, Truth, in our everyday life, — to the world wherever we come in contact with it, whether in public or private, at home or abroad. "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth." (Luke 11: 23.) Those who have no correct knowledge of Christian Science look upon it with suspicion and prejudice, and it is commonly but erroneously supposed to be only a system of healing physical infirmities, but this is only part of the truth. It is true that Christian Science does heal disease — destroying the false beliefs of mortal mind — and many are the very remarkable cures that it has effected, and is daily effecting, but it does not stop there. It lifts one up to a plane of Christian living, to a spiritual understanding, giving them a true conception of their spiritual power, showing them the Fatherhood of God, and the Brotherhood of man; teaching them how to love their neighbors as themselves, showing them the Christ as nothing else ever has done. And how vividly the errors of mortal mind are revealed to us as we advance in the study of Divine Science, as we drink deeper from the "Fountain of Life"; and as they are revealed to us we also see their falsity, their unreality, and thus, while once they would have seemed like insurmountable barriers in our pathway, we now know that we can overcome and destroy them by the power of Spirit. Let us never be discouraged, for though we no sooner conquer one error of mortal mind than others appear, we must "run with patience the race set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our Faith." Let us "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus," and know, with the apostle that "none of these things move me." No one can study Christian Science and be afterward satisfied with material conceptions. No one can study it honestly and sincerely without having the Truth revealed to them in a new and living form; without having a desire awakened within them to know Him as He is, to be like Him "whom to know aright is life eternal." "Beloved, now are we the Sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be."
The Christian Science Journal, May, 1894 |
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