Article June 11, 1927 Issue

Application

EARL A. RUSSELL

One of the seemingly hard things for the beginner in the study of Christian Science is to see that God's laws apply to his particular case or problem. This is usually because he has been taught that he is separated from God, and that he can act as he sees fit, even in a manner contrary to what he may believe God would desire. In short, the Adam-dream of existence has been believed to be real. Then, perhaps, as the beginner progresses in his study and grasps some of the truths contained in Christian Science, it dawns upon his thought that God knows nothing about matter, and he is perplexed to know how God can help him if He does not know anything of matter and its discords. In "No and Yes" (p. 30) our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, has written, "He [God] need not know the evil He destroys, any more than the legislator need know the criminal who is punished by the law enacted."

A definition of "law" is, "One of the rules ... by which any matter or proceeding is regulated;" which shows that law rules and regulates whatever comes under its jurisdiction; and it does so because it is understood to be positive and final. Whether one is aware of it or not, there is a right way, a rule or law which governs every condition, and which, when rightly applied, becomes of practical value and use. Let us take the rule of addition that two added to two make four. Here is a fact, a rule or law. And it is a rule or law which is not dependent upon certain conditions. It is impossible to change it, regardless of how one might wish to do so; and human opinions have no weight in this direction. The arithmetician does not worry whether he is dealing with potatoes or apples, for he knows that the law applies in whatever case it is used.

So in our study of Christian Science, as the truths about man in the image of God begin to unfold, we must apply them to whatever condition needs correction. A definition of "apply" is "to fasten, to attach;" and it is in the degree that we fasten, attach, or apply to our own problems the spiritual facts relative to our true selves, through the recognition of their truth, that we find the good which God always has for us. If one were to be placed beside a large sum of money, the owner of which he did not know, it would do him no good, nor would he benefit by it. True, it might be pleasing to his eye, but it would be of no practical value to him. But if, all of a sudden, he became aware that it belonged to himself, that moment it would become usable to him.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Application

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access