Article July 10, 1920 Issue

It was at the time when Jesus sent out his twelve disciples...

The Christian Science Monitor

It was at the time when Jesus sent out his twelve disciples with "power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease," that he gave them words of comfort which have come down through the centuries as a priceless heritage to humanity. The tenth chapter of Matthew, in which they may be found, is brimful of hope and admonition. There the Master at one point warns them against evil, as when he tells them to "beware of men," and to "fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul." Thereafter he goes on to state that his message, which they were to deliver, would have the effect of stirring up the human mind, sometimes to an extraordinary degree. "Think not," he said, "that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." And the words were spoken by him who, as it is recorded in the very next chapter, also said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

If the passages quoted be read superficially and without some understanding of the Principle which Jesus taught and practiced, they are bound to appear contradictory. But if they be interpreted through an understanding of divine Principle, they become perfectly plain. The whole endeavor of Christ Jesus was to reveal God, divine Principle, to mankind. He found the world grossly material, living in the belief that matter is real, and, in consequence, indulging itself in all forms of sensuousness. It was to a great extent away from the knowledge of the living and true God. The mission of Christ Jesus was the endeavor to counteract this materialism through spiritual understanding, through the absolute knowledge which he possessed of Principle or Truth. He knew that only in this way could the world posibly be healed of sickness, sin, and death. When, then, he gave forth out of the plenitude of his knowledge the truth about God, and when this truth reached the ears of those sunk deep in materialism, what was bound to follow? Resentment, hatred, opposition to Truth, and the endeavor to do injury to the one who proclaimed the Messianic message. As Mrs. Eddy has said in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 19), "The Master forbore not to speak the whole truth, declaring precisely what would destroy sickness, sin, and death, although his teaching set households at variance, and brought to material beliefs not peace, but a sword."

What happened in Jesus' time happens frequently to-day. Christian Science is the truth about Principle. It is absolute in its statements. It compromises not at all with the false material beliefs of the human mind. The result is that its teachings sometimes meet with opposition, the opposition of the carnal mind, which would fain rend those who are endeavoring to be faithful to Principle by applying what they understand of the truth to problems of human existence. Indeed, there are few who are not somewhat antagonistic to truth when first it is brought before them. But in many cases the opposition is short-lived, for the logic of Christian Science appeals irresistibly to the sincere and earnest inquirer. It is well to remember this, and to recollect also that the truth which Christian Science reveals, because it is absolute, must ultimately be universally accepted.

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