|
CSEC ON-LINE REFERENCE LIBRARY |
|
MINNIE GARDNER Christian Science teaches that God is Mind, and man the reflection of divine Mind; therefore all that is real about anyone is the good he manifests. This understanding brings unspeakable comfort and assurance of safety at all times, but especially in time of trouble, and enables the individual to see error apart from himself, thus giving him courage to begin and continue in the endeavor to overcome the false beliefs which claim to be his personality, as well as the universal beliefs of materia medica, physiology, health laws, mesmerism, hypnotism, false theology, and the like. When this thought is firmly grasped and clearly understood, men rejoice in spiritual freedom, and the work of overcoming need no longer be wearisome, but is intensely interesting; for, as we see more and more of the truth, the nothingness of error becomes more obvious, and we begin to lose fear of its seeming power. It is not always an easy matter at first to accept the fact that all the errors and faults which seem so natural to us and which we put down to heredity, temperament, or some other material law, have in reality no existence; that God, good, being all, there is no place for evil; and we must ask what authority Christian Science has for teaching such a wonderful doctrine. Jesus said, "Ye must be born again," and in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 18) Mrs. Eddy says: "The prominent laws which forward birth in the divine order of Science, are these: 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me;' 'Love thy neighbor as thyself.' These commands of infinite wisdom, translated into the new tongue, their spiritual meaning, signify: Thou shalt love Spirit only, not its opposite, in every God-quality, even in substance; thou shalt recognize thyself as God's spiritual child only, and the true man and true woman, the all-harmonious 'male and female,' as of spiritual origin, God's reflection, — thus as children of one common Parent, — wherein and whereby Father, Mother, and child are the divine Principle and divine idea, even the divine 'Us' — one in good, and good in One." To recognize one's self as "God's spiritual child only," is for each one to realize that he is a perfectly pure idea of God, and that the claim of evil can be looked upon as nothingness, a false belief which God has given him power to overcome, in much the same way as, in the legend, St. George saw the dragon and overcame it. The dragon is the symbol of mortal mind, and it seeks to kill the pure idea of God, but "it is cast out by Christ, Truth, the spiritual idea, and so proved to be powerless" (Science and Health, p. 567). Now, although we may theoretically accept the truth of all this, we cannot demonstrate it all at once — no mortal has ever yet done so; but as we go on faithfully studying the Bible and Science and Health, as well as Mrs. Eddy's other writings, we shall be able to discern the false claims of error more and more easily and quickly, and in proportion as we destroy them — prove their unreality — good will be manifested in us. When we give way, therefore, to anger, criticism, or condemnation of anyone, because we believe he is manifesting some error which we think we have ourselves overcome, we should pause and examine our own mentality. We may see we are still admitting the error as real, and we shall probably also find that we have still many faults of our own to overcome which the one we would condemn may have already overthrown. Then in charity, which "suffereth long, and is kind," we should give to all only thoughts of love and words of encouragement for good work already done, sending our brother on his way with fresh strength and more determined purpose to fight the good fight. The study of Science and Health will help us to aid scientifically those who are sincerely resisting error, although their demonstration may appear slow. Sometimes students of Christian Science, especially beginners, are discouraged and disappointed, because they seem unfit to do any definite work for the cause they love so much. To be inseparable from God, however, is to be above and beyond the control of material circumstances and conditions, and understanding this truth gives us ability to demonstrate that nothing can prevent us from thinking rightly. Then we can be working for God every minute, and proving the powerlessness of material beliefs to fetter us. We can know that divine Mind is governing, not only ourselves but everyone else, and even the momentous problems that are holding the attention of the world today. This is reflecting the Christ-mind, which counteracts all evil, and this mental work, although unseen, is none the less effective. To be conscious that we are not indulging in sin enables us to persist in our efforts, in face of all seeming obstacles. Man, therefore, being the image and likeness of God and inseparable from Him, reflects His perfect attributes, and we demonstrate oneness with the Father by bringing them to bear on every claim of evil to destroy it.
Christian Science Sentinel, January 3, 1920 |
Copyright
© 1996-2008 CSEC