Article February 22, 1919 Issue

Our Study and Growth

KATHERINE E. VARGA

Who has not known the longing to gain more and more understanding of the truth, after some realization has come to him that he is indeed God's child and not the child of sin and error? The beginner in Christian Science sincerely desires to advance in this knowledge of Truth, and often reads on page 495 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" the answer to the question, "How can I progress most rapidly in the understanding of Christian Science?" The first sentence in the answer is this: "Study thoroughly the letter and imbibe the spirit." To "study thoroughly the letter" seems simple and easy enough, but many of us have found that to "imbibe the spirit" is much more difficult and requires a close walk with God—close in thought, close in word, close in deed. Though the spirit may seem to come to us slowly, we may be sure it will come, if we are faithful in our study of the Bible and Mrs. Eddy's writings, and conform our lives to the teachings therein.

One can readily see that systematic, thorough study results in growth much more quickly than does haphazard study. Practically all Christian Scientists study the Lesson-Sermon daily, and the good coming to the world through the truth revealed in these Lessons and in a degree realized by all who study them cannot be measured. If we even realize the truth of the subject of a Lesson, such as "God the only Cause and Creator," or "God the Preserver of Man," we shall be doing something for a world which believes in all manner of causes, and which feels that man is not likely to be preserved without material means. Then there is opportunity to grasp the special thought brought out in each section, both as regards the Bible references and their correlative passages in Science and Health.

A certain student who earnestly wished to grow through the daily study of the Lesson-Sermon, planned to choose and memorize each week something in the Lesson that appealed to her as especially beautiful or helpful, both from the Bible and from Science and Health. It was not always an entire citation from Science and Health but it was often more than a sentence, and a verse from the Bible. These were pondered through the week as well as committed to memory, and soon she was delighted with the many verses of Scripture and the statements from the textbook which came to her accurately when she needed them. This was especially appreciated because so often before when she most wanted to recall certain passages she had known only a part of them. Then, too, after one has given certain passages special thought, they seem to stand out more clearly and with a fuller meaning when occurring in other Lessons, just as a word means so much more after we have studied it with the concordances to the Bible and the concordance to Science and Health. When we have studied in this way a word such as strength or purity, for instance, not only do we have a higher concept of real purity and true strength, but we understand better how these may be demonstrated in our own lives.

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