Article August 18, 1928 Issue

"Seek ye first the kingdom"

THOMAS E. HURLEY

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." How clearly is the way indicated in this plain, simple statement of the Master! And yet, how generally are this statement and its beneficent promise ignored by mankind! In fact, mortals seem to have taken exactly the opposite view and are seeking "these things" first, giving little thought to the "kingdom of God" as a present possibility. This is not because all do not desire present blessings. All do. But mankind has been led to believe that this teaching of Christ Jesus is merely theoretical, very good in the abstract, but not practical. Christian Science reverses this error, and shows the teachings of the Master to be practical, usable here and now; and through the understanding thus gained we are able to fulfill the condition, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God." As a result, we come into the present enjoyment of the promise, our daily needs being met, very often in a far better manner than we could have outlined.

To one faced with the seeming necessity of providing for a family, perhaps burdened with the added beliefs of debt, unemployment, or failure, this may come as "an hard saying." Yet it is not dogmatic, but reasonable, logical, and above all, demonstrable. This does not mean that in our present state of growth we do not have to take the necessary human footsteps. We do. But when our first aim is to grow in our understanding of God and His universe, and to obey His will, these steps are fruitful and effective.

Through the spiritual unfoldment of the Bible, gained through the study of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, we understand that God is good, and that He is infinite; that He is the only cause and creator, and that all that He made was "very good." In the first chapter of Genesis we are told that God made man "in his own image." Therefore, man is the perfect reflection of God, expressing all of God's qualities, attributes, and ideas in their perfection, substantiality, and permanence. If there was anything of God that man did not express, he would lack just that much of being the image of God, of being man. Man is forever the image of God, and therefore in Science reflects all and can lack nothing. Mrs. Eddy writes (Science and Health, p. 259): "The lost image is no image. The true likeness cannot be lost in divine reflection." The material senses, on the other hand, inform us that man is material, sick, sinning, dying, bound by lack and limitation. This is obviously not the man of God's creating, but a lie, a false concept of man; and it is the belief that this false concept is the real man which would try to prevent our recognition of man as God made him

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