Article October 8, 1921 Issue

Understanding God

CHARLES S. WATSON

God , as understood in Christian Science, is so different from the conception of Him generally held, that when the understanding comes that He is Love and is good only, the revelation must indeed become a milestone in the pilgrim's progress out of material sense into that higher understanding of the truth of all being. This correct view of God is the foundation on which this great superstructure, Christian Science, is built, and if the foundation stone had not been well and truly laid, the structure would have ere now fallen. Christian Science, however, is a religion based on demonstration and accepts literally the words of our Master, "By their fruits ye shall know them." Its foundation, built on the rock Christ, Truth, has thus been from all time and will stand the test of ages to come. On page 180 of First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" Mrs. Eddy says of Christian Science: "It appeals alone to God, to the divine Principle, or Life, Truth, and Love, to whom all things are possible; and this Principle heals sin, sickness, disease, and death. Christian Science meets error with Truth, death with Life, hate with Love, and thus, and only thus, does it overcome evil and heal disease."

Our Master revealed spiritual healing as an essential factor in the workings of Christianity and an important proof of man's right to freedom; for sin, sickness, and other evils which he destroyed were and are forms of bondage. Christian Science reaffirms the doctrine of the Bible, that if we truly seek God and understand His law we certainly shall find Him, and that He is revealed to us through the healing of sin and disease. The fact that christians generally do not practice spiritual healing is proof that they do not understand God. It is often said that Jesus' works of healing were only for that particular period during which he was on this globe; but God's law is unchanging and ever operative, and our Master commanded us to follow him, promising that if we but believe, that is, understand God, then the mighty works which he did will and must be repeated by us. All Christian sects agree that Jesus came to enlighten us concerning the Father, and it is through the immortal words he spoke that we gain the satisfying revelations of God. He declared, "There is none good but one, that is, God." We also have Biblical assurance that God is Spirit and that He is Love.

On page 303 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy says: "God, without the image and likeness of Himself, would be a nonentity, or Mind unexpressed. He would be without a witness or proof of His own nature." In dwelling on these eternal truths we naturally arrive at the desire that these qualities may be expressed in us, that is, in our daily living. As we understand God more and more we become conscious of our sonship with the Father and the consequent true knowledge of man and the universe. God could never be a more tender Father-Mother, a greater help at all times, than when His nature is reflected in the thoughts and actions of every one of us, in the contacts of daily experience. The query may arise: In what way can this understanding of God benefit each one of us? The answer comes quickly: In every way. We learn in Christian Science that the divine Mind being the only cause of all that is good, we can rest assured that in seeking and understanding God we shall gain all the good we need and that all good will be eternally expressed in man's living.

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