Article October 26, 1946 Issue

"Make Him thy first acquaintance"

Paul Stark Seeley

The most important thing for every individual is an understanding of God. "Brother, sister, beloved in the Lord, knowest thou thyself, and art thou acquainted with God?" questions Mary Baker Eddy. Then she adds, "If not, I pray thee as a Christian Scientist, delay not to make Him thy first acquaintance" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 151). Thy first acquaintance!

An acquaintance is one of whom we have knowledge, not one to whom we merely accord recognition. Most mortals accord God a limited recognition. They believe in a higher power, and there they stop. But an accurate knowledge of God must be gained. It is natural for man to possess it, and without it life is an enigma. Said the Master, "I know whence I came, and whither I go" (John 8:14). You and I should be able to say that too.

In the understanding of God inheres the power to nullify sin, to destroy disease, and to abolish death. Without it religion is a belief without power, a theory without substance. The purpose underlying all the study, prayer, and practice of a Christian Scientist is more fully to understand and demonstrate the I AM that is man's Life and God.

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