Article April 22, 1922 Issue

Unfoldment

JULIA WARNER MICHAEL JOHNSTON

To-day the world is receiving a message of good cheer from Christian Science. Through demonstration of its teachings there is being proclaimed, in the midst of evil's attempt to govern the earth, the fact that there abides a law of God counteracting every such seeming evil effort and maintaining the dominion of good. This law underlies divine unfoldment and sustains all right activities, through them always producing harmonious results. Divine Principle governs this process, thus maintaining its identities and thereby expressing infinite Mind. In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 68) Mrs. Eddy writes, "Christian Science presents unfoldment, not accretion." This statement hints the basic fact of creation's completeness. Since its creator is eternal Life, it must live forever; and the manner of this living must be in the nature of unfoldment, for naught can be added to completeness, nor anything taken from it. To unfold signifies to bring out, to open or disclose; so, creation consists of God's endless revealment of that which spiritually is. In this treasure house abide only the elements of purity and perfection; hence the holiness of God's own selfhood is the glory which divine law is continually revealing through the various ideas which fill the universe of Mind. Naturally, only that which exists can be disclosed; therefore the allness of God bespeaks an infinitude of perfect manifestation coexistent with its creator, for unfoldment connotes unity of cause and effect. At this point the Christianly scientific thinker realizes that God expresses the spiritual universe and man for the intent that He may govern them.

In order the better to understand the process of God's law of unfoldment, let us consider the law governing numbers. Through laws of division, increase, diminution, and so on, numbers are controlled individually and collectively. They are never injured or destroyed in this process, because they are scientifically controlled; for example, the statement that five divided by two equals two and one half indicates a particular and fixed relationship between two and five, dependent upon unalterable law. It does not imply the mutilation of the identity, five. Only a process of unfoldment has occurred. Similarly, the statement that four minus two equals two indicates the activity of the law of diminishment, which in the process has not, however, lessened the individuality of either the four or the two, for the numbers have not changed by their harmonious cooperation in obedience to law. Thus it is with the activities of all the ideas which comprise the universe of God. His law of unfoldment forever expresses through His ideas His ability to preserve the perfect manifestation of His divine government. Wherever these ideas are placed, and however they are related to each other, through common obedience to law they continuously unfold God's plan of perpetual harmony. In "Retrospection and Introspection" (p. 28) Mrs. Eddy says: "Purity, self-renunciation, faith, and understanding must reduce all things to their own mental denomination, Mind, which divides, subdivides, increases, diminishes, constitutes, and sustains, according to the law of God."

In Exodus we read: "And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided." In this incident it is evident that Moses' exercise of "purity, self-renunciation, faith, and understanding" demonstrated to the Israelites the presence of Principle operating through its law of division and its effects for their salvation, when they relied upon it in time of need. Again, in Hebrews, where the writer is referring to God's promise to Abraham, is the following statement: "Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee." Abraham had also expressed these qualities which Moses had shown, and he, too, was to experience blessing through the presence of God's law of multiplication. All the operations of God's law of unfoldment are mental and spiritual, and they reveal the presence of controlling Principle. They do not indicate anything new added to creation, not aught withdrawn from it; but, rather, the supreme power working within.

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