Editorial August 27, 1938 Issue

Maintaining Spiritual Progress

Duncan Sinclair

WHAT is the starting point of spiritual progress? On the question of spiritual growth Mrs. Eddy writes on page 91 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures": "Let us rid ourselves of the belief that man is separated from God, and obey only the divine Principle, Life and Love. Here is the great point of departure for all true spiritual growth." Two things are thus essential for spiritual progress. First, there must be the realization of man's unity with God, his at-one-ment with divine Principle. Secondly, there must be on our part obedience to the divine Principle—Life and Love.

Christ Jesus had these points of view ever before his thought. His words testify to the fact. He said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30), and, "The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise" (John 5:19). Jesus was deeply conscious of his unity with the Father, and that because of this unity he reflected God, Life and Love. Not only, so, but he was obedient to Life and Love, in that he applied his understanding to the various human problems which presented themselves to him, thereby solving them. It is plain from a study of his ministry, as it is recorded in the New Testament, that the Master steadily progressed in spirituality until his ascension, when he rose entirely above materiality.

When we understand that man is at one with God, we realize that our duty is to overcome the false material sense of self, which is the antithesis of our real spiritual selfhood, and that only obedience to Love and Life will enable us to do so. Our Leader writes (ibid., p.242): "Self-love is more opaque than a solid body. In patient obedience to a patient God, let us labor to dissolve with the universal solvent of Love the adamant of error,—self-will, self-justification and self-love,—which wars against spirituality and is the law of sin and death." How splendidly she states the problem, and how to solve it! Our spiritual progress will be in proportion to our mastery of self-will, self-justification, and self-love, through our understanding of divine Love.

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