Article November 8, 1913 Issue

"We would see a sign from thee"

ANNIE V. C. DODGSHUN

When the scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus, asking that a sign be given to them in proof of his God-bestowed power, he answered them in these words: "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas." One may ask, What was "the sign of the prophet Jonas"? Surely no outward manifestation of power in the so-called realm of matter. Coming to see the loving-kindness of God through varied experiences, Jonas listened to and obeyed the voice of Truth and received the blessing. Therefore, "the sign of the prophet Jonas" is surely that of obedience to the law of God, the law of Love. And this sign of obedience the Master gave to his immediate followers and those around him throughout his earthly life. His mission was to establish the kingdom of God, the reign of righteousness, or right ideas, in the human consciousness, and as a sign or proof of the establishment of this kingdom within, he demanded willing obedience to that Mind which was in Christ Jesus, to the Son of God, for he said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

The mortal, or carnal mind, with its manifold forms of belief, is ever demanding of the workers in Christian Science that an outward material sign be given as proof of the power of spiritual law to heal. To the dishonest and impure thought, to the thought manifesting dis-ease in mind, body, or environment, and also to the honest thought, which is hungering and thirsting after righteousness, or right thinking concerning God and man, there is only one answer to be given, and this is implied in the words of the Master, "There shall no sign be given ... but the sign of the prophet Jonas," the sign of obedience to the spiritual demands of Truth and willingness to meet its requirements.

The proof of healing is in the mental sign which is manifested in changed thought, the desire for a higher understanding of God and a growing recognition of man as spiritual and perfect; and if the Christian Scientist is obedient to his high calling of God, and is convinced of the infinite power of divine Truth, and recognizes at all times the completeness and wholeness of God's idea, the sign of true healing will appear in the consciousness of the patient, and with it will be manifested an improved belief of body. The honest worker in Christian Science desires to see quick and permanent healing. He is learning that only as he casts the beam out of his own eye can he see clearly to cast the mote out of his brother's eye. There is less need of lengthy mental argument and more of abiding in the healing consciousness of Truth and Love, less talking about love and more of loving. If we are holding thoughts of condemnation, resentment, hatred, pride, if we are exalting human personality and permitting human opinion to govern our thought, thus failing to acknowledge the one omniscient Mind, we are allowing this unlikeness to God to reign in our consciousness, and we shall thus be separated from God.

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