Man's Birthright

WILHELMINA LEFFLER

JESUS said, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." A glorious promise indeed, and one which is available to every one here and now. Man as the reflection of divine intelligence is free to bring into his life everything which is good, true, and beautiful; but how, one may ask, is this to be accomplished? The answer is found in the condition Jesus attached to the promise, also in Paul's words, "Let that mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." The Master operated according to the law of divine Mind, never admitting as true the suggestions of limitation, failure, disease, or death. Again, one may argue that we have not the understanding which Jesus had, but have we not the statement that "God is no respecter of persons," and the Master's promise, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also"? The one who holds to this will be able to demonstrate with scientific certainty that God is supreme and that all good is within man's reach.

Gloomy forebodings never solved any problem; it is only through the activity and influence of the Mind which never fails that we can gain the realization of the glorious promise spoken of. Is one in search of health? Then hear again the truth declared of old,—"Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." One must remove the sandals of doubt, despair, ignorance, and fear, and learn that God is present just where he is. God created man in His image and likeness, spiritual, immortal, and whole, sinless and free. Then hear again the voice of the Christ calling, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." On page 14 of Science and Health Mrs. Eddy says: "Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual,—neither in nor of matter,—and the body will then utter no complaints. If suffering from a belief in sickness, you will find yourself suddenly well."

Harmony is here because God is here, and because it is the manifestation of a sound mind. We need only to accept this truth to find it so. Ill health is a self-imposed condition, the result of wrong thinking, a belief that health obtains in the bodily organs and functions, hence at the disposal of them. When we realize that health is a spiritual fact and in the keeping of God, we find that health never was lost but simply misapprehended. Our work then is to draw nearer to God, to reflect more of the divine Principle which is the source of all activity, and thereby learn that sickness is only an illusion, a belief, since man can never be separated from divine Mind, as St. Paul tells us.

Is one in quest of happiness? Then let him know that happiness is here; for joy is a spiritual fact and cannot be destroyed; hence we need only repudiate the thought of sorrow as a suggestion to believe in a power apart from God, to find that "sorrow is not the master of joy" (Science and Health p. 304), but that joy is the natural outcome of Love, which is the only power.

God gave man dominion over the whole earth, and when conscious of that dominion, we can lack no good thing. It is ours to reject the belief that material conditions can affect man's happiness, and thus prove that God's man is untouched by sorrow, because the harmony of his being is never disturbed. Plenty exists because God exists, and it is a divine idea, hence available to all God's children. It is right for us to attain unto the fulness of life and to be righteously and profitably employed. Limitation is not legitimate; we should hope for whatever is right and expect to see the fulfilment of our desire. The divine Mind governing man means health, joy, plenty, and boundless opportunity; but we have work to do, for our heavenly Father requires righteous activity of every individual. Inaction has no place in the kingdom of God, and every man shall receive according to his deserving. In Revelation we read, "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."

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