Outstanding among the divine qualities of Christ Jesus was his alertness instantly to detect and reject the arguments of material sense. His spiritual perception always discerned the cause of any discord as the belief in the reality of matter. This belief he destroyed with the understanding that all being is in God, Mind, the one and only real cause.

His demonstrations proved the existence of but one Mind, one Being, named I AM. They further proved true selfhood to be man created in the image and likeness of God, the infinite I AM. In her definition of "I, or Ego," on page 588 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy says in part, "There is but one I, or US, but one divine Principle, or Mind, governing all existence; man and woman unchanged forever in their individual characters, even as numbers which never blend with each other, though they are governed by one Principle." It is of paramount importance to understand the oneness of God and man.

Christ Jesus had no respect for matter. In the record of his healing of the blind man, he spat upon matter; but he did not ignore the error. He opened the man's eyes with the application of the truth of being, the realization of perfect God, and perfect man made in His likeness. Everyone has the opportunity to and must needs follow the example of Christ Jesus by overcoming the testimony of material sense and proving that the only real senses of man are spiritual.

A student of Christian Science was engaged in work which required much close reading and examining of figures. Others pursuing this employment wore glasses. It was stated that the work would impair his vision, and that he too would need glasses. Here alertness was needed in order to recognize the erroneous and aggressive character of the suggestion. Here was an occasion for prompt denial of the false belief. Here was the opportunity to prove his dominion over the claims of the carnal mind.

Instead of such alert treatment, however, the student carelessly disregarded the error. Not long afterward, the belief of defective vision claimed a place in his experience, and the erroneous suggestion seemed most aggressive when he was studying the Christian Science textbook. Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." The Christ, Truth, uncovered the falsity of the argument that discord could be experienced while one is studying the Science of being, and opened the student's eyes to the immediate need—that of recognizing that false belief must not be ignored, but destroyed by intelligent application of the truth taught in the Bible and in Science and Health.

Spiritual vision is wholly a quality of divine Mind, God. It is also, by reflection, a quality of spiritual man. It involves an awareness of good, a discernment of the real nature of God and man, a perception of spiritual being. Christ Jesus so clearly saw man's true being that he was able to heal not only physical blindness, but also mental blindness, which, in essence, is belief in the reality of matter.

The spiritual vision of Christ Jesus came as a revelation to John, who saw the holy city with "no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." Jesus once used the word "temple" in reference to body. On page 576 of Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy points out John's familiarity with the Master's use of this word. She says, "What further indication need we of the real man's incorporeality than this, that John saw heaven and earth with 'no temple [body] therein'?" This spiritual vision is not too hard to be grasped by each individual today. Each one can begin its attainment by expanding his understanding through consecrated study, prayer, and practice. Eternal harmony and immortality are revealed through spiritual sense.

Material sense suggests that being is separate from God, that in place of one divine Mind there are minds many, and that matter is real. It argues that the material body is subject to sin, sickness, and death. Unless we are alert to the erroneous character of these suggestions, we may allow ourselves to be victimized and suffer because of the false belief. Discord is always the result of some phase of false thinking, of acceptance of the illusions of material sense testimony.

Not for one instant did Jesus accept the arguments of material sense which presented themselves in the case of the man born blind. These could easily have suggested the belief that blindness is inherited, protracted, and incurable. He knew that evil has no past, present, or future. Today the argument of defective vision frequently necessitates the wearing of glasses. But no aggressive suggestion can usurp spiritual man's dominion over the material senses, and the individual must be alert lest he attempt to justify what at best is but a material makeshift with the argument that with many the wearing of glasses appears a necessity. Since there is no reality in matter, sight does not exist in matter. The more unrelenting the argument that matter is real, that matter sees, that eyes can be impaired, the more spiritual must be the perception of Being, God, the great I AM, of whom man is the complete expression.

Alert and persistent affirmation of this unity of God and man, together with study of the truth as taught in the Christian Science textbook, freed the student above mentioned from the argument of defective vision. He found it unnecessary to resort to glasses. The demonstration of perfect sight Christian Science shows to be possible for all. Mrs. Eddy says (Science and Health, p. 486): "Sight, hearing, all the spiritual senses of man, are eternal. They cannot be lost. Their reality and immortality are in Spirit and understanding, not in matter,—hence their permanence."