Editorial August 9, 1924 Issue

Persistence

Duncan Sinclair

Christian Science comes as a great revelation to every one who accepts its teaching. Not until its eternal truths are brought before one, and he begins to realize their meaning, does he comprehend what real being is, and become alive to the falsity of much that he had formerly believed to be true. Christian Science reveals the truth about God and man, distinguishes between reality and unreality; and because of the spiritual understanding it gives to men, it enables them to destroy the false beliefs which they may have been accepting as true, thus healing them of sickness and sin. Healing is the proof of the truth of Christian Science; and those who have experienced the blessing of healing stand in deepest reverence and with profoundest gratitude before God.

But the initial days of the revelation of Christian Science pass. Health becomes more firmly established; and the varied duties of life have to be met with more or less of routine procedure. As he progresses with his study, the student is better able to appreciate the work of the Discoverer of Christian Science, Mrs. Eddy, and, consequently, to value her labor as the Founder of what before long must generally be recognized as the greatest religious movement the world has ever seen. In doing so, he becomes aware of the important part spiritual healing plays in bringing the truth before mankind, and of the position the Church Manual, with its rules and By-laws, occupies in enabling Christian Scientists to carry on the work of healing in an orderly manner. In the Manual of The Mother Church all the agencies of the movement are defined, simply and clearly; the necessary guidance is given to individual members and to churches and societies, with regard to the putting into operation of these agencies; and no one animated by the Christ-spirit can fail to obtain from the Manual that practical guidance so necessary in dealing with his fellow-men in equity and justice.

As the wonderful wisdom of our Leader is recognized by us we experience the call to service. The Christ has been revealed to us; and we have felt its healing power. We must carry the truth to the world at large; and that can best be done by aligning ourselves with those agencies or activities defined in the Manual. He who unwisely deviates therefrom is a stumblingblock alike to the beginner in Christian Science, to the unwary within the movement, and to himself. As we fall into line, humbly yet happily, because of our new and inspired understanding of divine being, we become conscious of the need of persistence. In "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 340) Mrs. Eddy writes: "There is no excellence without labor; and the time to work, is now. Only by persistent, unremitting, straightforward toil; by turning neither to the right nor to the left, seeking no other pursuit or pleasure than that which cometh from God, can you win and wear the crown of the faithful." Labor is needed, wisely directed, thoughtful labor, labor governed by an understanding of divine Principle and not by personal motives. What mistakes, and oftentimes sorrow, would Christian Scientists be saved from in branch churches and societies, if all would work from the basis of Principle! The egotist is a scourge wherever found, because he is incapable of "unremitting, straightforward toil." The egotist is a wrecker, not a builder of enduring structures.

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