A Student of Christian Science is constantly reminded to keep his consciousness filled with the truth of being. Mary Baker Eddy writes in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 210), "Beloved Christian Scientists, keep your minds so filled with Truth and Love, that sin, disease, and death cannot enter them." Christ Jesus, the Master, said to his followers (John 8:32), "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." From these two statements we learn of the universal need for seeking and finding the truth.

To find the truth of being one must reject all belief in error and its seeming power and fill his consciousness with the allness and goodness of God. By clearing our thinking of all the false beliefs of the material senses we are enabled to understand and admit God's healing power. As Mrs. Eddy says in our textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (pp. 142, 143), "Truth is God's remedy for error of every kind, and Truth destroys only what is untrue."

One may say, "Knowing the truth is so hard for me, and it never seems to work." Knowing the truth is not a struggle, neither is it a burdensome chore. Truth is as infinite and ever present as the Father. Who or what can limit the perfection of God's creation? Because there is only one God, one creator, there is only one perfect creation and one power. It is Truth, God, which heals, and nothing else does. Nothing can hinder the ever-present unfolding of God's healing power.

In the definition of God found in the Glossary of our textbook we learn that God is the all-knowing and all-acting. We also learn that He is all substance and intelligence. It is then apparent that our work is to give all power and glory to God as Jesus did when he said (John 14:10), "The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." When we put self aside and acknowledge God as the only power, nothing can hinder our spiritual progress.

We should never be deceived by the material senses. God is the only Mind and governs all things harmoniously. Reflecting God, man is the perfect expression of health, peace, loveliness, joy, and harmony. Knowing these truths, we find that reality does not need to be healed, corrected, changed, or made perfect. All is at this moment the perfect reflection of God. The material sense of existence is a false sense containing no element of truth, for it is always a liar. When we place full reliance on Principle, God, we protect ourselves, and our present human experience is made harmonious.

Consider the trust and reliance we have when we say, "Two and two are four." This is a simple truth, and yet how powerful it is in our affairs because we know it and trust its operation. It is not necessary periodically to repeat this mathematical truth to reassure ourselves of its presence and power. The principle of mathematics is ever present and available whenever we desire to use it. In the same way, through utilizing the simple truths of Christian Science, we may prove that Principle, God, is always present and all-powerful. We can trust in and rely upon this fact. Only thus do we truly know the truth which sets us free.

Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health (p. 396), "Keep distinctly in thought that man is the offspring of God, not of man; that man is spiritual, not material; that Soul is Spirit, outside of matter, never in it, never giving the body life and sensation."

Divine law alone governs man, since God governs the entire universe. As we learn to rely on God and this perfect, harmonious law of being, we find that we are more willing to let go of the belief in any power or reality in matter. Jesus denied the false laws of the material senses. He saw man and creation as perfect and knew that man is never separated from the all-loving Father-Mother God.

I have had many proofs of the healing power of these simple yet profound truths. Late one afternoon an alarming physical manifestation appeared on the body of our young son, and he seemed exhausted. He and I repeated some of the truths he had learned in the Christian Science Sunday School, acknowledging the power and presence of God and the nothingness of error.

In the evening he became unable to use his left arm and leg, but we firmly denied the power of any material, man-made law and placed complete reliance on God's power and presence and on His perfect creation. I declared the child's at-one-ment with his Father-Mother God as a perfect, spiritual idea. The pain kept waking him at short intervals during the night. Error seemed to argue that the truths which had been declared for him were not powerful enough to overcome the error because his parents were "too close" to the patient. This lie was most emphatically denied, and we knew that God was fully responsible for man's well-being.

The next morning the condition was still present. Thoughts of discouragement, fear, and doubt presented themselves. These erroneous insinuations were denied instantly. With more radical firmness I again acknowledged that God and His divine law were present, that the healing work was complete and perfect, and that the material senses, with their false testimony, were a lie. All power and responsibility was trustingly seen as belonging to God. I found the following words of Hymn No. 359 in the Christian Science Hymnal reassuring and helpful:

Patience and trust were rewarded, for that afternoon the child started walking around without assistance. The next morning at the regular time he ran into my bedroom and jumped onto the bed, eager for his daily tussle. The healing was complete.

Such is the reward which comes from knowing the truth and trusting God. Patience, trust, humility, and love for God will always have their reward. We are satisfied when we seek and find the kingdom of heaven and see the healing power of Truth, God.