We Must Strive

LESLIE C. BELL

Throughout the Bible emphasis is laid on the effort we must make in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven, or bring into our consciousness the abundance of good that is the heritage of man. Nowhere do we find any hint that we should passively wait, in peaceful anticipation, for the kingdom of heaven to arrive. The Psalmist tells us to "wait patiently for him," but the message is not of inactivity, but rather of patience in the gradual unfoldment without conscious effort on our part.

"Go" and "do," words strongly expressive of action, were used by Jesus in his teachings. "Go, and do thou likewise," he said to the lawyer after relating the parable of the good Samaritan. And other writers in the Bible, James in particular, give the same message. This would appear to emphasize that we must make a constant, conscious effort to reach spiritual freedom, and that, if we would attain to the happiness of true being which is man's birthright, we must work actively to that end. Mrs. Eddy, with her clear spiritual vision, grasped firmly this fundamental step and presented it clearly in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," which explains the spiritual meaning of the Bible. On page 451 of that work she says that students of Christian Science "must not only seek, but strive, to enter the narrow path of Life."

Many of us may be inclined to be dilettante seekers for Truth rather than earnest strivers; but, just as in the material world nothing is gained without hard work, so is spiritual advancement made only by effort. Truth is to be gained only by the unceasing effort to understand God and man in His likeness, and to this end prayerful study of the Bible and of Mrs. Eddy's works is necessary. Christian Science reveals to us that God is divine Principle, Mind. This divine Mind must include the sum total of mental qualities such as goodness, courage, patience, justice, kindness, and so on; and of such perfect ideas alone is divine Mind, God, conscious. To have entity divine consciousness must be expressed, and the expression of Mind is man, "the compound idea of God, including all right ideas" (ibid., p. 475). In this way does Christian Science make us understand that man is the image and likeness of God, and enable us to see that the only activity of man is to express God by reflecting these divine qualities.

To understand and apply these truths is what we have to "go" and "do." We can express Love only by being constantly loving; we can express goodness only by constantly thinking and being good. If we do not strive to express all the qualities of divine Mind, we are like a man who beholds his face in a glass, and goes away and forgets what manner of man he was. The better we understand God the more we understand of good, and the more we understand of good the more of good we are able to express. We cannot sit still and merely contemplate the beauty of holiness. We must go forth into all the world and proclaim the truth; and this is done only by eliminating all that is unlike God, good, from our own consciousness, and by expressing constantly the Supreme Being.

This is not more than we are capable of doing. The desire to live aright is true prayer, and such prayer is answered. We may gain courage and strength from Mrs. Eddy's words on page 393 of Science and Health: "Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man."

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