Article March 2, 1912 Issue

THE SPIRITUAL IDEA

MARY THORN

In the Christian Science text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy writes: "So shall the spiritual idea guide all right desires in their passage from sense to Soul, from a material sense of existence to the spiritual, up to the glory prepared for them who love God" (p. 566). We also read, in the same text-book: "God creates and governs the universe, including man. The universe is filled with spiritual ideas, which He evolves, and they are obedient to the Mind that makes them" (p. 295). As we apprehend these ideas through spiritual sense and cast out the finite concepts of material sense, we enter into conscious communion with God, Spirit, and see the unreality of material belief and fear. Every form of discord and disease is but the outward expression of an erroneous concept of good. To heal the discord it is necessary to correct the mistake: that is, to uncover and cast out the erroneous belief and establish in consciousness a correct sense of good or the spiritual idea.

This point is clearly illustrated by the problem of supply, which presents itself to all mankind for solution. It is necessary to know at the beginning that money is not supply, neither is it the substance of supply. God, Spirit, is the one and only source of all good. Man in obedience to God is found serving Him and reflecting divine Love and intelligence, ever manifesting the omniaction of divine Mind. This condition being fulfilled, there is no sense of lack, and therefore no problem of supply to meet; but the false sense of intelligence called mortal mind admits a material belief of limitation, and is therefore always in want. Some of the fruits of this false sense are ignorance, inefficiency, inadaptability, self-condemnation, self-depreciation, resentment, envy, hatred, failure, poverty. Now, God being no respecter of persons, divine Love and intelligence are available to all, and the power to reflect this intelligence and Love is also impartially and freely given to all the sons of God; therefore every individual is able to serve God by reflecting love to his fellow men. This service is the foundation stone upon which rests all legitimate business, from that of the grocery store to the international business of a large corporation. This active obedience to God, made manifest in service, brings one into conscious harmony with his divine Principle, sets him free from a limited sense of intelligence and brings to light his God-given ability to reflect infinite Mind and demonstrate dominion over all the earth

We may be assured that the demand governed by a right desire cannot exceed the supply, if the student holds fast to the scientific fact expressed by Jesus, "Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." The loving Father does not mock us by lifting our thought to higher desires and then failing to satisfy those desires. To desire harmonious surroundings, expressing cleanliness, order, and beauty, is normal, and to demonstrate that God can meet this need and provide us with such surroundings is perfectly natural. This is no miracle, it is the simple right of every individual who is obedient to divine law. It is the great privilege of every one who bears the name, a Christian Scientist, to prove the power and truth of the words of the Master, "Ask, and ye shall receive."

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