Article December 25, 1943 Issue

"The divine must overcome the human"

HOWARD J. CHAMBERS

Christian Science teaches men how to let the divine overcome the human, in accordance with Mary Baker Eddy's statement in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 43), "The divine must overcome the human at every point." It shows that one cannot leap to absolute Truth at a single bound, nor can he hold longingly to material beliefs and still make any measure of progress. Either attitude is one of disobedience.

It might be said that the daily experience of the earnest Christian Scientist is that of letting the divine overcome the human. The word "let" is used advisedly here, because it most appropriately indicates what is taking place. The irresistible divine will is operating through divine law to destroy every material belief. It is then utterly unwise and useless to wish to delay the process, since, aside from being inevitable, it continually increases human happiness.

In no one thing was our Leader's wisdom more revealing than in her application of the divine to the human. "Wisdom in human action begins with what is nearest right under the circumstances, and thence achieves the absolute," she writes in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 288). Difficulty in the application of Christian Science often arises from failure to realize that it is Truth alone which does the work. If demonstration seems delayed, it may not be so much from a lack of understanding as it is from a lack of perseverance and patient waiting. Impatience betrays the fact that one may be more interested in improving a human condition than in seeking Truth for its own sake. Surrender of impatience, and a grateful yielding to the divine will solely because one loves its appearing, often remove the last barrier to healing.

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