GROWTH IN GRACE

MARION POWELL GOODNER

In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mary Baker Eddy writes (p. 4), "What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds." Christian Science teaches that growth in grace is increasing willingness to serve God, and to have a more friendly and kindly demeanor in dealing with one's fellow men.

Could one fail to grow in grace if he were truly expressing patience, meekness, and love, and following through with good deeds? In pondering this question, one might well ask what manner of patience, meekness, and love is required to fulfill this demand? This demand may be fulfilled through the expression of the patience that is willing to wait for good to unfold in the thought of our loved ones, instead of attempting to force them to accept our unfoldment.

We also require meekness to recognize that spiritual unfoldment is taking place universally, even when it is still not evident to another's thought. And our need is also for the love that beholds the real man's perfection right where material sense seems to report the opposite. The good deeds which result from such purified thought will meet the human need where the one who is experiencing the need can readily understand it.

At one time the writer was called upon to meet the need of transportation for a relative. This individual was under medical care, and the writer found herself spending many hours waiting at various places. The relative expressed very little appreciation and made many demands. As this situation continued, the writer found little time for consistent study of Christian Science, and other things needing her attention were crowded out.

In the light of the passage quoted at the beginning of this article, she realized that whereas she had been doing the good deeds, she had failed to express the qualities of patience, meekness, and love. Serving had been from a sense of duty, rather than as the expression of love. Self-righteousness had crept into her thought unchallenged, where meekness should have been. She had not only lost her reward of joy in service, and of appreciation by the one served, but also she had felt burdened and pressed by the situation.

Following this analysis, the writer began to pray more earnestly for genuine love to accompany the good deeds. Requesting help from a consecrated Christian Science practitioner on another problem, she found that the help given touched upon this situation also. With a clearer realization of Truth, she was able to replace in her consciousness the false concept of man as a mortal and to behold God's idea, loving and beloved. When called upon again to serve, she did so with joy. An interesting result was that she not only felt peace and joy while performing the service, but her relative expressed much gratitude. A gift of appreciation was received, and from that time, the one whose need had been supplied became loving and considerate and thereafter made no unnecessary demands.

Often people believe that their need is a physical one; that what they most need is money or material things. Yet our revered Leader plainly states, as quoted earlier in this article, that "what we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace." God's grace is an element of His goodness. It is His loving-kindness for His creation. We attain a measure of this grace each time we replace the human, erring concept of our brother with the divine concept, whereby we behold the image of God.

In "Miscellaneous Writings" Mrs. Eddy says (p. 127): "When a hungry heart petitions the divine Father-Mother God for bread, it is not given a stone,—but more grace, obedience, and love. If this heart, humble and trustful, faithfully asks divine Love to feed it with the bread of heaven, health, holiness, it will be conformed to a fitness to receive the answer to its desire; then will flow into it the 'river of His pleasure,' the tributary of divine Love, and great growth in Christian Science will follow,—even that joy which finds one's own in another's good."

Surely, to love with true meekness and unfaltering patience, and to follow with deeds of compassion that meet the human need, lifts burdens, restores joy and peace, blesses mankind, and glorifies God. In this way is fulfilled the simple, yet profound, injunction given by John (I John 3:18), "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."

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