Editorial December 29, 1923 Issue

Growth

Duncan Sinclair

It is not all uncommon to hear some one lamenting the insufficiency or slowness of his spiritual growth. Looking back over the years, he may think how rapidly he progressed to begin with, after Christian Science had brought to him the first great revelation of the allness of good and the unreality of evil. It was then he had been healed, perhaps, of a disease that had long afflicted him. How bright the future prospect then appeared; how great the promise of rapid growth out of all material beliefs into the realization of spiritual reality! But with his healing came the call to make known to his fellow-men the truth that had brought it about; and as he took his place in the ranks with his fellow Christian Scientists, humbly enough in all probability since he knew the paucity of his spiritual understanding, there began the warfare on what seemed a larger scale with the lie of mortal mind, in its seeming opposition everywhere to divine Mind.

Now the fact is that mortal mind or material sense did not become more formidable after the Christian Scientist had been healed and he had resolved to help in bringing the truth to mankind. Mortal mind never was real, and it therefore could not become more powerful; but it certainly happened that the student, because of his understanding of Christian Science, became more acutely aware of evil's subtle methods and the extent of its pretensions; and too frequently, not protecting himself from evil's suggestions, he has been deceived by them, thus temporarily putting a stop to his growth. The stop can have been only temporary, however, because growth is the eternal law of divine Mind; all must grow into the full or complete realization of man as he is, as he is know to God. Hopelessness is entirely unwarranted; it is without divine sanction; it is a false state of consciousness induced by accepting the erroneous belief that evil is real. But hopefulness is of God; it has its origin in Truth; and it is allied to the eternal mandate of divine Mind that growth is the law of man's being.

A great step is taken in spiritual growth when one awakens to the truth that God, divine Mind, is inseparable from His ideas. God expresses Himself through His spiritual ideas,—how else could Mind express itself? Hence, there is always perfect unity between God and His ideas. And as man is the idea of God, perfect unity exists between God and man. Mortal mind or the so-called mind of a mortal disputes this, arguing for separation between God and man. And that is the lie which must be recognized before mankind can begin its growth toward the realization of the real spiritual man. Whenever the lie of separation begins to be destroyed, spiritual growth is bound to result. In this connection Mrs. Eddy writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 91): "Let us rid ourselves of the belief that man is separated from God, and obey only the divine Principle, Life and Love. Here is the great point of departure for all true spiritual growth."

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