James Harry McReynolds, C.S.B. of Dallas, Texas
Member of the Board of Lectureship of The
Mother Church,
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in
Boston, Massachusetts
The lecturer spoke substantially as follows:
As we look about us today, we see a need for a more abundant sense of life a clearer realization of the dominion with which the man of God's creating is endowed. Man's function is to manifest true being, and it is plainly evident for the most part that mankind is not experiencing this true sense of well-being to which man, as the image and likeness of God, is entitled; otherwise, men would be expressing greater freedom from poverty, sickness, and other phases of discord.
I am confident that all who believe in one supreme God will concede that He is the source of all being; therefore it can be said that all real being emanates from Him and is maintained by Him.
Since God is infinite, the only being there is or can be is in Him. St. Paul has written in the seventeenth chapter of Acts that "we live, and move, and have our being" in God; hence no element of chance or accident can enter true being to influence or govern it. A material sense of existence is only a counterfeit or mistaken sense of being. Disease and other phases of the carnal mind can neither encroach upon nor penetrate the sovereignty of man's real being, because man is never for an instant separated from God. His allness includes man's being and excludes every phase of evil.
Man expresses only Godlike qualities; so-called qualities of inconsistency, instability, and other traits of human temperament do not belong to him any more than they do to God. The elements of the so-called carnal mind, lacking divine characteristics, are without support or sustenance; the only support such fictitious qualities seem to have is what we ignorantly give them.
There can be no sense of death or destruction in the real man; for God is continually caring for and upholding his being. In Romans (8:38,39) Paul tells us "that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." From this declaration of truth it may be deduced that nothing can separate us from the health, substance, intelligence, and love which God eternally bestows upon man.
Evil is the opposite of true being, just as it is the opposite of good. Having no inherent power or ability, it is incapable of entering the presence of God or that of His creation, man. The truth that God revealed to Moses centuries ago is just as applicable now (Ex. 23:22): "I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries," which obviously means that God's power is always at hand to bless and protect. A realization of this encourages one to resist evil suggestions; for he sees that they are powerless, since they do not proceed from God. It enables him to realize that man is forever at one with God and therefore does not have to be brought into His presence.
Our great Way-shower, Christ Jesus, had a clear realization of true being because he was able to discern the difference between the false sense of existence which the unillumined human mind entertains and eternal and harmonious being, which is perceptible only to the spiritualized or Christ-illumined consciousness. Mindful of his sonship with God, he spoke with authority and was able to prove that works which seemed miraculous to the multitudes were divinely natural to the son of God.
Jesus kept the distinction clear between his human selfhood and the Christ which he exemplified, and his teachings indicate that he expected his followers to do this also. On one occasion a young man came to him with a question, addressing him (Matt. 19:16) as "Good Master." Before answering the question and in order to help those about him recognize this difference, he said (verse 17), "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." Here "me" must refer to the human Jesus. On another occasion, to make sure that the disciples themselves understood his real being, he queried them regarding his true identity (Mark 8:27): "Whom do men say that I am?" They replied (verse 28) that some thought he was "John the Baptist: but some say Elias; and others, One of the prophets." In order to clear up any possible doubt in their minds on this all-important point, he asked them specifically their conception of his true being. Simon Peter, answering for his brethren, said (verse 29): "Thou art the Christ." It was evident that Jesus was satisfied with the answer, for his benediction was (Matt. 16:17), "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."
The Christ, which the carnal mind could not and does not comprehend, is understood in Christian Science (Science and Health, p. 583) to be "the divine manifestation of God," which is the spiritual or incorporeal idea of God that comes to receptive human consciousness and reveals the Godlike nature of man's true being. Jesus was the Way-shower; but it is through the divine Christ rather than through the human Jesus that salvation comes. It is "through this redemptive Christ, Truth," writes Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science (Message for 1901, p. 11), that "we are healed and saved, and that not of our selves, it is the gift of God; we are saved from the sins and sufferings of the flesh, and are the redeemed of the Lord."
In the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy (p. 465), there are to be found seven synonymous terms for God which express His full and complete nature. Life is one of them; the others are Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Truth, and Love.
To understand Life we must search the Scriptures. The Bible is known as the Book of Life; and there is hardly a chapter in its inspired pages which does not reveal God as Life, not only eternal, but as the source and creator of the universe. It emphasizes the immortal fact that Life is infinite, complete, and self-sustained and that there can be nothing above or outside of this infinitude. From the revelation of the nature of God as Life it becomes evident that Spirit, Life, is fundamental and underlies all reality.
Life, God, being omnipresent, is universally expressed; spiritual existence, true being, is therefore universally expressed. There is nothing nearer to man than Life because Life and being are inseparable. There is no way for him to get out of or away from Life, and nothing unlike Life can enter to disturb or destroy his being. Since Life is real, the logical and spiritual fact must be accepted that death, the opposite of Life, is unreal.
Mrs. Eddy has written (Unity of Good, p. 38): "To God alone belong the indisputable realities of being. Death is a contradiction of Life, or God; therefore it is not in accordance with His law, but antagonistic thereto." And again (Science and Health, p. 427): "Death is but another phase of the dream that existence can be material. Nothing can interfere with the harmony of being nor end the existence of man in Science."
In Science and Health (Pref., p. xi), "Immanuel, or 'God with us,'" is referred to as "a divine influence ever present in human consciousness." The divine influence of Life, which is ever present in human consciousness, reveals to mankind the fact that since being is in Life, it possesses the immortal quality of Life and is as perfect as Life itself. There is not a higher life and a lower life spiritual Life and material life. Being which is in God, Life, manifests all the qualities of Life, and these divine qualities are perpetuated in man's being in their original purity and perfection.
The divine manifestation of Life, which is the Christ, annihilates the belief that man's being is limited, circumscribed, or dependent upon matter or material structure for its existence or continuity. Since Life is infinite, the manifestation of infinite Life, which is man, must express the nature of the infinite in individual being.
From Life flows all activity, health, vigor, and immortality. These are the forever truths of being; hence they are the realities of man's being. These qualities are in no way dependent upon air, exercise, food, or altitude; neither do the elements support or condition man's being. Life, God, produces and perpetuates health; and since Life is infinite and fills all space, health must be universally present and expressed. It must be uninterrupted because it is at one with or coincident with immortal life. Health is not fragile and delicate, as mankind so commonly thinks of it, but is as indestructible as Life itself. In reality there is nothing to restrict or injure it, since it is upheld by God. From this it must follow that health does not need the aid of inanimate matter to maintain or restore it. When health is seen to be a quality of Life, its complete and unalterable nature can be demonstrated in human experience.
It logically follows that disease can have no actual being or existence, since it is not created or supported by God, Life; therefore if disease seems to exist, it is only as a false belief. All the semblance of entity it has is what mankind ignorantly attributes to it; for one cannot, in reality, endow it with that which it does not and cannot possess.
Prayer enables one to realize this truth, and the result of such prayer is the replacement of disease with health in human experience. One prays aright when he realizes that health is God-bestowed and is a quality of man's being and that disease, therefore, is no part of his true being. Prayer enables him to eliminate the erroneous conditions from his experience whenever he sees them as untrue, just as he wipes out a mistake in mathematics when he finds the correct answer.
Prayer in Christian Science is communion with God. In one sense it is a fervent desire for righteousness and spiritual understanding which leads to the convincing realization that God is the only power and presence. One is constantly reminded of the necessity of knowing the truth about himself, his home, his work, and his fellow man; and knowing the truth simply means holding fast to the real or spiritual fact as opposed to the false or material evidence. Thus one is afforded the opportunity of praying without ceasing, as admonished by Paul (I Thess. 5:17). He learns, further, that it is his duty and privilege to refute and destroy, in his thinking, belief in the unreliable evidence of sense testimony which daily confronts him; and he is praying when he does this.
Just as Jesus' teachings, as well as those of the great prophets, Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, found neither sympathy nor support from the religionists of their times, so the Leader of the Christian Science movement, Mary Baker Eddy, found that her spiritual teaching met with opposition on all sides. Those who have attempted to cut a path through the wilderness of creed, dogma, and ritual have met rebuffs, and Mrs. Eddy was no exception. Why one who professes to love and worship God should become offended at another who proves by his works that God is all the Scriptures declare Him to be seems strange indeed; perhaps it is sufficient to say that antagonism to Truth has always seemed to exist as a false claim, and this opposition is very aptly described by Paul (Rom. 8:7), as "the carnal mind [which] is enmity against God."
During the early part of her struggle to present Christian Science to the world, Mrs. Eddy found the public apathetic, and theologians, doctors, and physical scientists skeptical and even hostile. It is evident from her accomplishments that she was endowed with the faith and courage characteristic of Jesus and the ancient prophets. Had her faith and courage been less than spiritual, she could never have accomplished her divinely inspired mission.
Mrs. Eddy saw clearly that spiritual healing, as taught and practiced by Jesus a teaching which the churches had discarded as impossible of present-day fulfillment should be available and practical now. When materia medica and other material recuperative agencies had been proved ineffective and she was restored from a life of invalidism through spiritual means, it became clear to her that Jesus had utilized a scientific and unfailing method of healing, and so she set about to find its rule. After three years of prayerful study of the Bible, Jesus' method was revealed to her, and she named her discovery Christian Science, the purpose of which is stated in the Church Manual (p. 17): to "reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing."
It was clear to her that Christian Science was not only a divine revelation, but that it was the Comforter promised by Jesus. In order to give to the world her revelation, Mrs. Eddy wrote the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." Next in importance to this work was the founding of the Christian Science movement. This she completed by writing the Manual of The Mother Church, which safeguards the activities of the Christian Science movement by the intelligent direction of its By-Laws.
Mrs. Eddy is recognized by her followers everywhere as the one spiritually prepared to reveal the promised Comforter, and she is proclaimed as the greatest woman religionist of this or any age. To illustrate, let me quote from an editorial which appeared in an American newspaper at the time she passed on. This is typical of many editorials which were printed in newspapers all over the country.
"One of the most remarkable women of this or any other age passed from the scene of worldly activity when Mary Baker Eddy went to sleep to wake no more to mortal consciousness. . . . For far-reaching and enduring effect upon mankind, the work of this woman . . . is unparalleled by that of any other woman of ancient or modern times. . . . Her work will live after her indefinitely, possibly until the end of time. Her life has been a lesson of what her teachings can accomplish. Among the great women of the world there has been none who has left so great an impress as has Mrs. Eddy." Lincoln (Neb.) Daily Star.
It would be well for those who think healing through spiritual means is not applicable to our time to remind themselves that they are rejecting a fundamental portion of the Christian doctrine set forth by the Master; for it cannot be denied that spiritual healing was a cardinal point of his teaching.
In Science and Health (pp. 145, 146), Mrs. Eddy states: "Our Master's first article of faith propounded to his students was healing, and he proved his faith by his works. The ancient Christians were healers. Why has this element of Christianity been lost? Because our systems of religion are governed more or less by our systems of medicine. The first idolatry was faith in matter. The schools have rendered faith in drugs the fashion, rather than faith in Deity. By trusting matter to destroy its own discord, health and harmony have been sacrificed."
Mrs. Eddy's love for mankind is a healing love; similarly, every activity of The Mother Church and its branches has as its purpose the healing and regeneration of mankind. The Christian Science literature is designed to heal; of The Christian Science Monitor, which Mrs. Eddy established in 1908, she says (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 353), it is "to spread undivided the Science that operates unspent," and that "the object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind." Reading Rooms are maintained which the public may visit freely and where they may read or obtain the Bible, Mrs. Eddy's works, and authorized Christian Science publications. Innumerable healings have been reported by those who have availed themselves of the privileges afforded by the Reading Rooms.
Many healings also occur at the church services. I should like to relate a case of healing which occurred during a Christian Science Sunday morning church service. I have a friend who was operated on for a goiter. Later, the condition returned in a very exaggerated form. She was unwilling to undergo a second operation, despite the fact that the attending physician pronounced her condition critical. Apprehensive of her life unless immediate relief was obtained, she told her husband that she thought she would attend the Christian Science church the next Sunday, as she had heard that Christian Scientists believed and practiced divine healing. She attended a Christian Science service that Sunday for the first time. When she entered the church, she was unable to swallow without great pain because of the inflammation. During the service she was completely healed, and when she walked out at the close of the service, it was obvious to all that she had been healed. This healing took place about thirteen years ago, and since that time my friend has enjoyed excellent health and has led an active and fruitful life, giving her full time to the public practice of Christian Science.
The Bible tells us (Ps. 147:5) that God's understanding is infinite, and Christian Science explains further that He is ever-present and all-knowing Mind, expressed by His idea, man. Through the consciousness which Mind bestows, man reflects all the faculties of Mind. One of these faculties is intelligence, which is described in Science and Health (p. 469) as "the primal and eternal quality of infinite Mind." It is interesting to note that this definition is now included in two leading American dictionaries.
Through the light of the Christ, or the divine influence of Mind in human consciousness, one discerns the truth about his own being as well as that of his fellow man. He perceives that this divine influence is always present to reveal that which is real as well as the unreality of that which is untrue. It reveals that human will and human opinion are antagonistic to true knowledge and are no part of man, and it annihilates the belief in any so-called material intelligence.
While a complete answer to the question of the nature of man's true being requires careful and unprejudiced study of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," this does not mean that one has to master every phase of this infinite subject before he can use it; for he will find that, step by step, he can put into practice the results of his study. He may happily find, as thousands have, that blessings begin coming to him from the very time he commences an honest study of Christian Science.
He will find, for example, that the divine manifestation of Mind enables him to recognize divine intelligence as his intelligence, which he is able to use under all circumstances; to recognize true being as the only being there is, hence his being; to recognize that he possesses by reflection all the wisdom and perspicacity he needs with which to reach equitable decisions regarding business, home, and legitimate undertakings.
In Webster's Dictionary "intelligence" is defined in part as "the power of meeting any situation, especially a novel situation, successfully by proper behavior adjustments." It can be seen, then, that it is intelligence, "the primal and eternal quality of infinite Mind," which enables one to make the adjustment from apathy to alertness, from indifference to enthusiasm, from timidity to confidence and courageous reliance, from anxiety to trust, from confusion to order, from bad temper to self-control, from deceit to honesty and sincerity, from doubt to conviction, from discontent to peace and poise, from impatience to charity and patience, and from hate to love. He is sure to find that in proportion as he makes use of intelligence, this "primal and eternal quality of infinite Mind," his human affairs will work out with ease and harmony.
In setting forth to correct an inharmonious bodily condition, it should be remembered that it is not primarily the body that needs changing, but rather one's concept of body. In its attempted reversal of spiritual truths, mortal mind supposedly evolves a law by which it claims that erroneous bodily conditions are produced and perpetuated; and in order to bring about an improvement, this false law has to be set aside and God's law of harmony applied; evil's claim to law and power has to be annulled. Body is not healed of disease or of a broken bone, but of evil's claim primarily to authority and control of the body.
It should be realized that God alone is the lawmaker, and consequently there is no law except His divine law. Since God is wholly good, it is reasonable to assume that divine law is unerringly good and impartial. However, evil, like the allegorical snake-talker mentioned in the second chapter of Genesis, also claims that it institutes laws to govern mankind and that when these so-called laws are violated, there is a penalty to pay.
The claims of this would-be lawmaker are as false and inconsistent as evil itself. In one instance it claims that exercise builds muscles and increases bodily strength; and again, usually later in life, it affirms that the very same exercise depletes muscles and diminishes strength. It claims that food in one instance increases one's strength and improves his well-being, and in another instance it declares that the same food produces an opposite effect and is injurious to him. It acknowledges that there is a law of life, yet it institutes a penalty for living, saying that because one lives he must die. Do we not see from this that laws of the so-called carnal mind are inconsistent and fallible? So why yield assent to them instead of adhering to God's immutable law of Life and immortality?
Christian Science makes it clear that there are not two kinds of creation, one spiritual and the other material, but only one the spiritual; and in the study of this Science we learn that what appears to the physical senses to be a material creation is in reality but the inverted image of spiritual creation. As thought is corrected by Christian Science, the true facts of being become more apparent. Matter is not spiritualized in this thought transformation, because matter, nothing, will always be nothing; it cannot be changed into Spirit, any more than the nonentity of darkness can be transformed into light.
With a more spiritual sense of body, one is able to move his material body about with greater freedom, as it encounters less of the friction with which the carnal mind restricts its so-called creation. Jesus' material body never interfered with his activity, and he was able to move unhampered by the obstacles encountered by the materially-minded. In Science and Health we read (p. 90), "Divest yourself of the thought that there can be substance in matter, and the movements and transitions now possible for mortal mind will be found to be equally possible for the body." We shall have more useful and less ponderous anatomies when we realize man's God-given dominion over the body.
Spiritual truths are of no practical value to mankind unless they are provable, and Jesus could not have come demonstrating Truth if it were impracticable. The very fact that Truth is, is indicative of the further fact that Truth is demonstrable. Jesus gave an unexcelled recipe for the support and preservation of the human anatomy when he said (Matt. 6:25): "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" This admonition was reiterated by the Apostle Paul when he said (II Cor. 5:8), "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."
While the human body cannot be properly cared for by neglecting or ignoring its legitimate needs, mankind will be able to manifest an increasing sense of harmony in the human anatomy to the extent that one is absent from the body and present with the Lord conscious of spiritual being as the only creation.
The acrobat is absent from the body in a measure when he trains his body to be his servant. His training is such that he is able to perform almost superhuman feats largely because he has broken a few of the limitations of thinking regarding the human body. Some athletes accomplish more than others because they are able to rise above more of the limitations of thinking regarding their bodies, as is evidenced by their increased strength, freedom, and naturalness of action. However, a sense of personal accomplishment limits the athlete, for it subjects him to self-imposed barriers of the carnal mind which he believes he is unable to surmount.
Restrictions are encountered proportionately as one is conscious of materiality and becomes enslaved by the beliefs of the inertia and weight of matter. As an illustration, the tense and frantic action in swimming induced by fear causes one to sink, while ease of action produced by calmness relaxes the body, and it becomes buoyant. It is the same material body, but fear in one instance produces heaviness, while freedom from fear produces the opposite effect. Likewise, when thought is focused on some abnormality or limitation of the body, one becomes enslaved by fear of the unnatural condition.
The difficulty we encounter in understanding man's control of the body is largely due to false education, and as we give up our material beliefs of mind in matter and have but one Mind, God, and obey His divine and all-inclusive law, we find that this law enables man to govern his body harmoniously.
God's substantial, omnipotent, and omnipresent nature can be comprehended when we understand Him as Spirit. This understanding makes it possible for mankind to know that divine substance and power are present and available, irrespective of what material sense testimony may declare to the contrary. We cannot learn the truth of being by reasoning from any except a spiritual and scientific basis. True being does not originate in materialism, nor is it in any way dependent upon materiality or material conditions. There is nothing insubstantial, transitory, or material in real being.
The divine influence of Spirit reveals to human consciousness the fact that Spirit is the source of man's courage, enthusiasm, and energy. It does not bring to light a different man, but the only true and indestructible man there is, namely, the man whom God maintains in His, Spirit's, image and likeness. This being is not perceptible to the material senses, but is perfectly tangible to spiritual sense.
The divine manifestation of Spirit comes to human consciousness to your consciousness and to mine to destroy the belief in the reality of materialism; to eradicate from human thinking the belief that man is both material and spiritual or that he is a combination of good and evil qualities. Spiritual sense enables one to discern true being; thus he is equipped to do as Jesus commanded when he said (John 7:24), "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment."
The manifestation of the Christ in your consciousness enables you to speak and act with divine authority, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord" (Zech. 4:6). It gives endurance to being and enables you to be active without loss of strength and energy, because Spirit is inexhaustible, and spiritual might is evidenced in the persistence of being. It endows you with divine power to demonstrate the realities of being and to know that the material or carnal mind is impotent to restrict your activities. Commenting on man's true being in Science, Mrs. Eddy has written in Science and Health (p. 518): "His birthright is dominion, not subjection. He is lord of the belief in earth and heaven, himself subordinate alone to his Maker. This is the Science of being."
Soul expresses the nature of God which reveals His oneness, His infinite individuality. Sight and hearing are faculties of Soul and are perpetuated in man through spiritual sense, and because they are spiritual they are in no way dependent upon time or material organs.
Man's individuality is as enduring as Soul itself; it is never lost, because it is inseparable from God, Soul, who is ever conscious of His own likeness. The divine power which creates and maintains man's identity and individuality is the same divine power which prevents any phase of evil from becoming identified with him. There are no irregularities or peculiarities in or on man's true being to which evil or evil elements can fasten themselves, and by the very nature of his perfect individuality the evil elements of the so-called carnal mind are everlastingly excluded.
Through the divine influence of Soul, mankind becomes aware of the fact that there is no selfhood apart from God and recognizes man's perfect agreement and forever at-one-ment with Soul. Thus one is at peace, because the divine qualities of Soul, such as contentment and satisfaction, permeate his being.
The divine manifestation of Soul
which comes to human consciousness destroys the false sense of self and
replaces it with the spiritual sense of self, which constitutes man's true
being. It takes away the strain of personal sense a personal sense of
ability, integrity, or strength giving freedom to thought and action. It
enables one to realize that the destructive elements of the senses, such as
disease, sensuousness, and discord can never be identified with man's true
being. Through this understanding, man's spiritual selfhood as the
representative of Soul comes to light.
God is the source or creator of all being, which means that He is divine Principle. It follows, then, that God is the divine Principle of man and that man's being is exactly like that of the creative divine Principle; it is not like God in one instance and unlike Him in another, but constantly expresses the creator.
It is correct to believe that like produces like. James best illustrated this truth when he said (3:11,12): "Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh." As we learn in Christian Science that God is the divine Principle of man's being, it follows with irrefutable logic that whatever emanates from this perfect cause or creator must of itself be perfect and immortal.
The divine influence of Principle in human consciousness is the spiritual light which dispels the mists of materialism and reveals man's true being as imperishable and eternally harmonious. It reveals man as Principle's consummate representative, consequently not dependent on time and other elements of materiality for his ceaseless development. Man does not have to be recreated or remodeled; he only needs to be seen and recognized as God's good and perfect creation.
Christ, the divine manifestation of Principle in human consciousness, enables mankind to perceive man as inseparably linked with his creator, and his activities as under the sanction and authority of Principle's all-governing law; it spiritually empowers one to demonstrate endless progress and unfoldment.
In the Preface of her great book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. xi), Mrs. Eddy makes this arresting statement: "The physical healing of Christian Science results now, as in Jesus' time, from the operation of divine Principle, before which sin and disease lose their reality in human consciousness and disappear as naturally and as necessarily as darkness gives place to light and sin to reformation. Now, as then, these mighty works are not supernatural, but supremely natural."
To know God as Truth is to understand that He is eternal and unchanging forever Himself. God, Truth, could not be inconsistent and fickle, mindful of His creation at one time and unmindful of it at another, conscious of man in one instance and negligent of him in another. God's provision for His creation is unvarying, corresponding to His own immutable nature.
True being can never be lost nor obscured, and the so-called forces of evil are impotent to oppose the course and progress of man's being; for Truth is always triumphant. Since it is omnipresent, it does not depend upon a transmission or a transportation system; hence it is never delayed. It has no battle to protect man's being; all that is necessary is for it to be itself. It is never embarrassed nor put to disadvantage, never outnumbered nor overwhelmed, because the authority of omnipotent Truth is a law of annihilation to everything unlike itself.
The divine influence of Truth, which is ever present in human consciousness, reveals these facts of man's being and destroys any frail or transient concept thereof. It reveals that man is inseparable from Truth and that this unity of being cannot be divided by error; in fact, error is resolved into its nothingness as this truth becomes apparent.
Just as God is ever faithful and loyal to His creation, so His creation, man, must be His faithful and loyal expression. The divine manifestation of Truth in human consciousness enables one to manifest the qualities of integrity and dependability; it makes him modest and sincere. He finds that order, harmony, and justice are native to true being and are demonstrated as one lives in obedience to the divine law of Truth.
In proportion as one understands and demonstrates Christian Science, the verity of his being comes to light, but he encounters difficulty whenever he is reluctant to admit that matter and materialism are nothing and contribute nothing to his well-being. Men also appear reluctant to admit that they have been deceived in this respect, and even more reluctant to change their thinking regarding the generally accepted concepts of materiality.
In Christian Science the perfection of being is seen, not as ethereal, but as the practical state of being which can and must be realized here and now. The necessity and possibility of such a manifestation is assured us by Mrs. Eddy when she writes (Miscellaneous Writings, pp. 52, 53): "Mortals have the sum of being to work out, and up, to its spiritual standpoint. They must work out of this dream or false claim of sensation and life in matter, and up to the spiritual realities of existence, before this false claim can be wholly dispelled . . . by overcoming temptation and sin, shall we escape the weariness and wickedness of mortal existence, and gain heaven, the harmony of being."
We understand God as we recognize His nature to be Love; and kindness, mercy, and unfailing goodness are evidence of His love. Love must of necessity have an idea or creation on which to bestow its compassion, and man is the direct recipient of God's care.
To know God as Love and to understand His tender nature is to trust Him. When we awaken to the realization that He is constantly pouring forth love to His children, such knowledge empowers us with the authority of divine law. Adhesion, cohesion, and attraction are the cementing properties of Love which endow being with grace and beauty; they hold it intact, preventing it from becoming disfigured or dismembered.
The divine influence of Love, which is ever present in human consciousness, reveals the all-embracing, protecting, and sustaining nature of God. It reveals God's mercy and tender solicitude eternally and universally at hand to bless; Love's unchanging loveliness as never absent; man's being safe in Love's protection.
Christ, the divine manifestation of Love, which comes to human consciousness, enables man to express love in every department of his being, to enjoy Love's provision, to rest in the comfort and safety of Love's unfailing care.
Briefly, let me summarize by saying that man reflects the qualities of Mind which enable him to express intelligence, balance, and poise; man reflects the qualities of Spirit which enable him to manifest endurance, activity, divine power, and substance; man reflects the qualities of Soul which enable him to be conscious of his real individuality, his true selfhood and completeness; man reflects the qualities of divine Principle which enable him to manifest inseparability from God; man reflects the qualities of Life which enable him to experience health and immortality; man reflects the qualities of Truth which enable him to express harmony, order, and unchanging goodness; and man reflects the qualities of Love which enable him to manifest affection, mercy, and loveliness.
The full radiance of God's being is found through Christian Science to be reflected in man's true being, inseparable from the Father; and the divine light of the Christ brings to human consciousness to you and to me the realization of spiritual existence or immortal being when the fetters of human thinking yield to spiritual understanding. This spiritual state of existence is spoken of by Mrs. Eddy in Science and Health (p. 76) thus: "The sinless joy, the perfect harmony and immortality of Life, possessing unlimited divine beauty and goodness without a single bodily pleasure or pain, constitutes the only veritable, indestructible man, whose being is spiritual. This state of existence is scientific and intact, a perfection discernible only by those who have the final understanding of Christ in divine Science." When this understanding is attained, it will be seen that, as Mrs. Eddy says again in Science and Health (p. 264), "Spirit and its formations are the only realities of being."
[Delivered circa 1948-1950]