Article October 9, 1926 Issue

In Focus

JOHN JOSTEN

Much of the misery and discomfort to which men and women are the unwilling victims—physical ailments, inharmonious conditions in home and business circles, lack, poverty, failure to bring out certain right results even after earnest and honest efforts have been made to destroy the seeming discords—is in the main due to the fact that they are not at-one with God's government of good. In other words, the human viewpoint is distorted, or out of focus.

The healing work which Jesus the Christ accomplished during the brief but eventful and inspiring years of his earthly mission was entirely due to his constant and loving endeavors to be in complete accord with God, his heavenly Father, the divine Principle of all true being. Hence we find him saying, "I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things." This humble and sincere acknowledgement of the real source of Jesus' healing power brought conviction to the understanding and hearts of those who heard him; and we find John saying that many of the Jews were convinced by Jesus' words and believed on him because of them.

The awakening which came to Jesus' listeners, and the consequent receptivity to his teachings, enabled him to bring out one of the leading truisms of his ministry, namely, that in proportion as men are willing to be governed by God, divine Mind, there will come to them complete supremacy over, and freedom from, discord of every kind. On the other hand, the early career of Saul of Tarsus, even though he was honest in his mistaken motives, furnishes a striking proof of how completely everything can be distorted, because out of focus, when one is under the dominion and sway of evil. It was only when the awakening came to Saul in the realization that he had been unjustly persecuting the early Christian church that he became the great apostle to the Gentiles. It was then that, as Mrs. Eddy tells us in our textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 326), "he [Paul] beheld for the first time the true idea of Love, and learned a lesson in divine Science."

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