Salvation, or illusion?

When I was new to Christian Science, it seemed I had to make a lot of difficult choices. Instead of simply doing what I wanted to do, I was learning to stop and listen to God’s guidance. This new approach to decision-making wasn’t easy because I didn’t always want to go the “godly way”! But I did want to change, and I was committed to my decision to seek God’s guidance.

Whether someone is new to Christian Science or a long-time student, the need to ascertain God’s will and act accordingly is a part of daily life. Christ Jesus reminded his followers of the importance of applying metaphysics to decision-making: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24).

This process becomes clearer when we examine our choices. Simply put, choosing between “God and mammon” is choosing between salvation and illusion.

Mary Baker Eddy discusses this relationship: “Salvation is as eternal as God. To mortal thought Jesus appeared as a child, and grew to manhood, to suffer before Pilate and on Calvary, because he could reach and teach mankind only through this conformity to mortal conditions; but Soul never saw the Saviour come and go, because the divine idea is always present. 

“Jesus came to rescue men from these very illusions to which he seemed to conform: from the illusion which calls sin real, and man a sinner, needing a Saviour; the illusion which calls sickness real, and man an invalid, needing a physician; the illusion that death is as real as Life. From such thoughts—mortal inventions, one and all—Christ Jesus came to save men, through ever-present and eternal good” (Unity of Good, pp. 59–60).

An illusion—which might be disguised as fear, illness, greed, lack, sin, or even death—is any belief unlike God. The purpose of Jesus’ healings and the trials he faced, culminating in his crucifixion, was to prove that we reflect God as Life, and that Life is eternal. Our mission is to emulate Jesus’ work by recognizing and demonstrating the nothingness of “mortal inventions” and the allness of Truth. This is what brings salvation.

Serving God should always be our first choice, even if society disapproves.

Mrs. Eddy suggests one way to do this: “Beloved brethren, the love of our loving Lord was never more manifest than in its stern condemnation of all error, wherever found. I counsel thee, rebuke and exhort one another” (Christian Science versus Pantheism, p. 13). The key point here (as contrary as it seems) is that Jesus’ love was strongly manifested when he was condemning error. For example, in Luke we find Jesus’ conversation with a prospective disciple. Jesus said: “Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God” (9:59, 60).

I used to think Jesus’ words were harsh, but then I saw it as a test of the man’s sincerity. Jesus was offering salvation—a gift far more important than a burial ritual. This doesn’t mean that we ignore the human needs relating to the passing of a loved one, but to me it points to an important lesson: Serving God should always be our first choice, even if society disapproves.

I remember choosing not to celebrate my birthday, reasoning that if Life really is eternal, my material birth date wasn’t all that important. Plus, if I have a birth day, wouldn’t I also have a death day? Mrs. Eddy unequivocally states: “Never record ages. Chronological data are no part of the vast forever. Time-tables of birth and death are so many conspiracies against manhood and womanhood” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 246). The more I prayed, the more I saw that either life is eternal or it’s not—and it seemed hypocritical to try to have it both ways—so I opted for Life and stopped celebrating my birthday. (I should add that I know many people who believe strongly in a spiritual view of existence and still mark their birthdays, but to me it just made sense to let mine go.)

It’s inevitable that each one of us will understand our relationship to God. Because we are created in His image, we really do not have a choice in the matter! Mrs. Eddy aptly says: “Sooner or later all shall know Him, recognize the great truth that Spirit is infinite, and find life in Him in whom we do ‘live, and move, and have our being’ ” (Christian Science versus Pantheism, p. 13). Our task is to acknowledge this truth and live accordingly—and as we do, we’re trading material illusions for spiritual salvation.