Article May 28, 1927 Issue

"Every man that hath this hope in him"

LOULIE ATKINSON SNEAD

One of the first things for which we learn to be grateful when we come into Christian Science is the fact that it is a wholly practical religion, with fixed Principle and definite rules for its demonstration. In the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy says (pp. 112, 113), "As there is but one God, there can be but one divine Principle of all Science; and there must be fixed rules for the demonstration of this divine Principle." The student to begin with is sure that these rules exist; but, filled with materiality as his thinking may be, he is often baffled in his efforts to lay hold of the rules that lead to demonstration. One cause of this difficulty is that, still obeying so-called mortal mind with its dishonest seeking for short cuts, he has been looking, not for a rule to be obeyed in every thought and deed, but for a fetish or formula to be used in place of a drug or other material help. This mistake once seen and its futilty acknowledged, the student joyfully recognizes that the rules are plain, and their application an immediate possibility.

To one student who had been longing for the guidance which she thought she lacked and needed, the Sunday reading from I John 3:1–3 brought great light. In that wonderful passage, after stating and reiterating the fact that now we are the sons of God, and that we can demonstrate the truth of our sonship in proportion to our understanding of God, the apostle adds, "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."

God's law, operative throughout His infinite universe, is the law of perfection. This law, then, is in force now, just where we are. It must, therefore, be realizable by all the sons of God. Our need is to claim and demonstrate our sonship through God's law; and this may be done through spiritual understanding and the purification of self.

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