Divine Inheritance
In his epistle to the Romans Paul writes, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ." Think of it—"heirs of God, joint-heirs with Christ"! Have we even glimpsed the glorious meaning of this statement?
What does it mean to be joint-heir? A joint-heir is one who shares with another an inheritance or possession. Being joint-heirs with Christ, we have the privilege of sharing equally with him that spiritual understanding which makes us, here and now, possessors of the kingdom of heaven, a spiritual estate which is unbounded, rich in substance and glory beyond anything mortals can conceive.
How great would be our happiness, and how deep our satisfaction, if through the love and generosity of a friend we were made the recipients of a large and prosperous business! Our gratitude would indeed be great, and our days and nights would be spent in thinking of how to manage our new possession successfully. And yet, just at hand, within the grasp of every sincere and earnest thinker, is the spiritual kingdom, embracing all that the heart desires—goodness, purity, strength of purpose, intelligence, happiness, abundance of supply.
Mankind seeks the material rather than the divine because it does not know the truth about divine inheritance. And yet, the kingdom of Spirit is ever present, greater than any material heritage we could possibly imagine. The kingdom of heaven is ours; and it is perpetually ruled by a loving God. Shall we possess this heavenly heritage, or shall we say to the Father's executor, Christian Science, "Go your way for the present, for I am fully occupied with my material activities"?
Acceptance of man's divine inheritance entails no sleepless nights or harassed days in an endeavor properly to handle this heritage; for Love is the manager of our divine estate. Love governs every detail of our possession, so that, as we grow in appreciation of our inherited rights as jointheirs with Christ, we are able to sing with the Psalmist, "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness." Love is ever at the helm of thought, and as we rejoice daily and hourly, the magnitude of our heritage will unfold to our consciousness.
All of our activities while about our Father's business, as heirs of our divine inheritance, are God-directed; for our heritage embraces all of the qualities necessary to success as joint-heirs with Christ—capacity, discernment, aptitude, intelligence, strength, vigor, vitality, substance, perpetual and harmonious action. If we accepted this divine inheritance with the same understanding and fidelity of purpose with which we would accept a heritage from an earthly relative or friend, we should find that all things are possible to us. We should realize that we are equipped for any rightful activity in which we may be engaged, whether in the business world, the home, the classroom, the playground, or elsewhere; and there we should be accomplishing constructive service for humanity, utilizing for our neighbor's welfare the attributes of God which man reflects.
The joint-heir with Christ receives his heritage because it is the Father's will that he receive it. Since divine Mind—Life, Truth, Love—fills all space, there is never a moment when this heritage can suffer maladministration. For divine Mind is always perfect, always active, always fulfilling its divine purpose. In "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 113 ) Mary Baker Eddy writes, "We have nothing to fear when Love is at the helm of thought, but everything to enjoy on earth and in heaven."
Mind is directing, Love is protecting, Principle is operating. God has opened "the windows of heaven" to the sincere beneficiaries of His abundance. Then we must go forward in the name of the Lord to do His will. All that would express in any way the carnal mind must be put aside; for it has no part or lot in our divine inheritance. It must not be tolerated for a moment. If we are truly endeavoring to progress, we must count that sin which hinders us, even though it be "light as breath of summer air."
To abide in a continuing consciousness of our divine heritage is surely to dwell "in the secret place of the most High." There we may listen for divine direction before we take the human steps in our daily activities; there we may listen for Truth's voice before we go forth to storm some wall of Jericho; there we may hearken before we answer our accuser; there we may wait for patience and the loving word that we need our errands of mercy; and there we shall find the omnipotent wisdom which enables us to work out all our problems to the glory of God. And may we remember that Love is there awaiting our complete obedience; for Love is satisfied with nothing less.
Perhaps there is a dear one who says: "I should like to know about this divine inheritance, but I cannot understand the Principle as taught in the textbook, 'Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures' by Mary Baker Eddy. I have read the textbook; I have perused some of the periodicals; I have visited a Christian Science practitioner; and I have gone over one or two sections of the Lesson this week, but I simply cannot understand what Christian Science teaches—it is too deep for me." What would one think of a student who used a similar argument regarding his efforts to understand Greek, French, mathematics, law, or engineering? How much progress would he have made in these subjects during the time he had devoted to the study of Christian Science?
What did Jesus do? He had been reared from childhood in a godly home and had earnestly studied the Scriptures, as his discourses in the temple and to his disciples prove; yet during the strenuous days of his three years' ministry, he sometimes spent whole nights in the mountains apart, communing with his Father. His successful healing and preaching were made possible by these vigils alone with God. There was never a time when he failed in his application of the truth, and there was never a time when he was unprepared for his work. He said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Students of Christian Science, we whose privilege it is to be joint-heirs with Christ, must follow the Way-shower. We cannot be dilatory; we cannot be slothful; we cannot yield to discouragement, and at the same time find the straight and narrow way. "The kingdom of heaven is at hand": its heights, its richness, its exceeding abundance are all ours, but we must claim our divine inheritance by being worthy of it. We must seek it as we would hid treasure; and in proportion as we do this, the gates of heaven will open to us. "Spirit, God, gathers unformed thoughts into their proper channels, and unfolds these thoughts, even as He opens the petals of a holy purpose in order that the purpose may appear," writes Mrs. Eddy on page 506 of Science and Health. Christian Science is our star in the East, guiding us to divine heights.
