Article January 24, 1942 Issue

"The kingdom of God is within you"

GRACE E. ROWNTREE

When Christ Jesus "was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come," how startling must have been his declaration, "The kingdom of God is within you"! That men are still ignorant of the deep spiritual significance underlying this statement is evident in the appalling state of unrest and strife which engulfs the nations. Students of Christian Science are daily demonstrating the truth of the Master's assertion that heaven, harmony, is within spiritual thinking by the overcoming of discordant conditions through the acceptance of the true concept of God and man, as expounded by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." Through the study of this divinely inspired textbook, thousands are being enlightened to perceive the truth of the spiritual creation, as recorded in the first chapter of Genesis, in which man is declared to be the image and likeness of God, Spirit, and must therefore be the perfect reflection of God.

The kingdom of heaven, in our consciousness, consists of harmonious and constructive ideas, which must be vigilantly guarded against the aggressive onslaughts of destructive mortal thoughts. Our Leader admonishes us (Science and Health, p. 392): "Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously". We experience good or evil, health or disease, happiness or sorrow, in accordance with our acceptance of the good or the wrong thoughts which knock at our mental doors. Christ Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." Only what we accept as real and true can affect our thoughts and actions. We therefore discern the way to overcome and prevent suffering, for we can rightly control our thoughts. When confronted with the temptation to believe in evil as real, we can protect ourselves and others by knowing that the real man, in God's likeness, is incapable of sinful thoughts and motives. We suffer the effects of sin only so long as we entertain belief in the so-called power and presence of mortal mind. The unreality of sin and suffering is seen as we grasp the fact that God is the only creator, filling all space, governing, supporting, and controlling His own perfect creation, including man.

Conscious of divine Mind as the only cause, we are in possession of the kingdom of heaven, which it is the "Father's good pleasure" to bestow on all who, dropping the belief of life in matter, reach out fearlessly for the truth of man's indissoluble unity with Spirit, Life, Truth, and Love. The kingdom includes the realization and demonstration of health, holiness, intelligence, purity, love, joy, peace, and so forth, and excludes inharmonious conditions attached to the belief in man and the universe as material.

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