Article April 10, 1920 Issue

The Joy of Proving

MARY E. TRUITT

When to the student of Christian Science comes an understanding of the practical import of Jesus' teaching, his joy is unbounded. After he has wandered though the unsatisfying mazes of theology and medicine, it is a wonderful thing to learn and to know really that God is Love and that as Mrs. Eddy says, "The same power which heals sin heals also sickness" (Science and Health, p. 135). When one has felt the healing touch of the Christ, Truth, whether through deliverance from sin, sickness, or sorrow, he longs to share with others, and especially those nearest and dearest, this wonderful new knowledge. It seems so simple and so clear that he never doubts but that all will accept it. Perhaps this desire takes precedence over the wiser one, which is to gain first a knowledge of the teachings of Christian Science so thorough that it cannot be shaken by the doubts and questions of others.

Questions will be asked by those who really care to know, and to them is due intelligent explanation or the loving advice to study the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, together with the Bible. Then, too, questions will come from those whose desire is not for knowledge of the teachings of Christian Science, but merely for argument or to confuse and to create doubt where there should be assurance. A wise thought of Peter's is worth remembering: "Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." That is, to sanctify, consecrate, and devote one's time and thought to the knowing of God and man's relationship to Him!

Soon the student of Christian Science learns that he cannot take any merely material relationship with him into this new and interesting search for the truth; then he realizes the wisdom of silently working out his own salvation and recognizes that the approval of others is not necessary to his advancement. Perhaps there will come the reflected thought that a great gulf is being formed between him and the loved ones; something may seem to tell him to advance slowly, or to wait until they are ready to travel the path he has chosen. Some may linger long in the valley of indecision, and to such Mrs. Eddy gives a kindly admonition on page 183 of Science and Health: "Divine Mind rightly demands man's entire obedience, affection, and strength. No reservation is made for any lesser loyalty." Jesus realized that only through undivided allegiance to God could he help others, and he said, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." Jesus waited not for the plaudits of the multitude, but spoke and taught the truth as it was given to him by his Father. He was always loving, compassionate, and thoughtful of others, and so should every Christian Scientist be, but this does not mean conceding anything to public opinion if that opinion does not measure up to the standards of Principle. One's work must be done well in quietness and peace so that when a testing time comes, a time when error rages and the evidence of the senses is terrifying, then he can rejoice in the knowledge of the nothingness of error and the allness of God, and rest secure in the assurance that God is Love. How gratefully and confidently he turns to God in this hour of trial, needing only to know that the God who is Love is a living, healing presence. He rejoices in this opportunity to prove God's allness, knowing as we are told in Science and Health (p. 66), "Each successive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine goodness and love."

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