Editorial February 1, 1913 Issue

POSSIBILITIES

Annie M. Knott

In the gospels we find a number of strong statements as to what is possible to those who let go of the mortal, material sense of things, and lift their thoughts to God as the source of all that is real and harmonious. Luke tells us that when Mary questioned the angel's annunciation of the birth of the "holy child Jesus," she was assured that "with God nothing shall be impossible." Later, we read that Jesus himself declared the same truth to the sorrowful father of the epileptic boy when he said, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth;" that is, in the all-power of God. Many times this assurance was given by Jesus, and on one occasion he said to the disciples, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." In Mark's gospel we read that in his brief but decisive struggle in the garden Jesus declared, "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee;" and Mrs. Eddy says of the final result of this experience upon the disciples that "it helped them to raise themselves and others from spiritual dulness and blind belief in God into the perception of infinite possibilities" (Science and Health, p. 34).

The Christian Scientist's point of view should' ever be that of man's infinite possibilities, and this of course means the man of God's creating, for the unreal, sinning, suffering mortal concept is nothing to be "accounted of." The vital question for each to consider is whether he is "with God" in all his hope, aspiration, and endeavor. If he is, then he has the assurance that the things which are impossible to mortal sense are possible when one "blends his thoughts of existence with the spiritual and works only as God works" (Science and Health, p. 263). We can hardly estimate the chilling, deadening effect of a denial of man's divinely bestowed possibilities upon those who are trying to gain their freedom from bondage of some sort, especially that of disease. It therefore rests with the one who has had a glimpse of Truth's infinite power to know and declare for himself, as did Paul, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

Many miss to a large extent the meaning of man's infinite possibilities as scientifically understood, and the uplifting power which accompanies such an understanding, because they hold thought down to the low level of material transactions and mere worldly success. Here some one may ask if it is not perfectly legitimate to apply our understanding of Truth to all our human problems. To this it may be answered that the rays of Truth penetrate all human conditions and show how they may be bettered, but the spiritual law of progress is that we shall seek first the things of God, work with God to divine ends, and we shall then find all good will inevitably come to us if we keep close enough to the Father, who knows our needs better than we do ourselves and cares for us with infinite tenderness. Our greatest need—our only real need—is to reflect God, for this means the possession of health, holiness, happiness, with strength to be and to do. Mortal belief denies and ever has denied that such a consummation is possible, but the truth stands unshaken throughout the centuries, and will until mortal belief is forever silenced.

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