Article February 3, 1923 Issue

Activity

GRACE M. PUTNAM

ACTIVITY is so often associated with mere physical motion that one may find it somewhat hard at first to grasp the idea in Christian Science of true activity, which has in it no element of materiality. True activity belongs to divine Mind, God. In the first chapter of Genesis we are told that man was created in the image and likeness of God, and given dominion over all things. This was the real, spiritual man, God's beloved son, "the climax of creation," as Mrs. Eddy says in "No and Yes" (p. 17). Then she continues, "And God is not without an ever-present witness, testifying of Himself." She further states, "In Science there is no fallen state of being; for therein is no inverted image of God, no escape from the focal radiation of the infinite."

Human obedience is possible in proportion to our understanding of divine Principle, and our ability in consequence to distinguish between right and wrong motives. Perfect obedience is the reflection of perfect Principle. A reflection is the most obedient thing in the universe, because it has no power of initiative of its own. It is absolutely dependent for movement on the cause of its existence. Then, if man is the image or reflection of God, he can act through no impulse or initiative of his own, but must be absolutely obedient to Principle, the Mind which created him, the Mind which is eternally active, the Mind which brought forth all the harmonious wonders of creation, the Mind which knows no inefficiency, no inharmony, no lack or limitation, no competition or opposition, and no weariness. When we grasp, even faintly, the infinite, indestructible energy of divine Mind's activity, we see that man, reflecting that power, has dominion over all things, and that no material law, so called, can oppose, hinder, or stop man's God-given activity.

We pray each day for that Mind to be in us "which was also in Christ Jesus." Why? Because we realize that Jesus understood, as no one else ever has so clearly understood, true substance, true activity, and true dominion. His three years' ministry of teaching and healing was a constant, progressive demonstration of the power of true activity. He was always about the Father's business, for he knew that it is the only business there really is. Knowing that the work was done through no effort of his own, that the divine Mind which accomplished the work was infinite and eternal, and that Mind was never separated from its reflection, Jesus was never hurried, never too busy to be kind or to answer honest questions, never afraid to give a reason for the faith that was in him, never asleep to the movements of the enemy,—evil belief,—but always awake to the motive behind speech or action; and he never undertook to do others' work for them, but showed them how best to do theirs. Mrs. Eddy tells us in her Message for 1900 (p. 8): "Usefulness is doing rightly by yourself and others. We lose a percentage due to our activity when doing the work that belongs to another." Knowing that in the one Mind there is no limitation, and that therefore there could be no reflection of limitation, Jesus turned the water into wine at the wedding feast, and fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes. Knowing that Mind's activity can neither be obstructed nor stopped, he healed the sick and raised the dead,—himself, as well as others. Knowing that there is no activity in any so-called material law that could not be overruled through a right application of God's law, he stilled the tempest, escaped the mob which would have stoned him, transported the ship across the lake in an instant of time, and walked the waves of error, calm and undisturbed. He, the manliest man who ever lived, used the least physical effort to accomplish his glorious work, and told us how to do the same. That the world did not recognize this fact was due to its dense materiality and lack of spiritual insight. It remained for a pure, devoted woman, Mary Baker Eddy, to see the great truth put forth in the Bible in parable and miracle. Through her clear reflection of divine intelligence and activity, the world has now the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," and the Manual of The Mother Church with simple, comprehensive, and spiritual By-laws, which, if obeyed, will enable all to follow the Master's command to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils," and to preach the gospel with power; thus reflecting true activity.

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