CHRIST JESUS knew how to remain undisturbed, for he had a clear comprehension of the reality of that which is spiritual and harmonious and the unreality of a material and erring sense of existence. His thorough understanding of man's at-one-ment with Spirit and his freedom from limitations of so-called material law enabled him to walk calmly over the waves of the sea, to heal all manner of diseases, and to raise the dead. He understood and demonstrated Life in divine Science.

Mary Baker Eddy says in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 306), "Undisturbed amid the jarring testimony of the material senses, Science, still enthroned, is unfolding to mortals the immutable, harmonious, divine Principle,—is unfolding Life and the universe, ever present and eternal." Many of us have wished that we could gain an undisturbed consciousness. We should like to be free from evil's deceptive claims. It is a blessed fact that through the study and practice of Christian Science we can attain tranquillity, even though our way seems beset by many problems.

The earnest student of Christian Science sets his heart to the task. He does not condone evil, ignore it, or try to make the material picture perfect. He begins to see the unreality of evil and to know that only the spiritual is truly present. He rejoices that through spiritual understanding there is always a sanctuary for him in Spirit, where he can realize man's selfhood as apart from matter and discord. Here, shutting out all material clamoring, the student can see and accept the perfection of being, the truth of God, man, and the universe, which Science is constantly unfolding to him. Here he can experience the coincidence of the divine and human, which meets the present human need.

The Christian Scientist can dwell, for example, on the beautiful truths found in Genesis (1:27, 31): "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him. . . . And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." These statements refer to the spiritual man and universe, the true creation. To be willing to accept man in the image and likeness of God and to see a completely good universe as His reflection, we must first get a clear concept of the nature of God.

Through divine revelation Mrs. Eddy discloses the truth of God to us. He is Spirit, Life, Truth, Love. He is also Principle, Soul, Mind. He is man's only cause and creator, his lawmaker, protecting, guiding, and governing him.

The image of God, then, is the expression of this one and only cause and is spiritual and good. Man is governed by unerring, spiritual law. He sees, feels, and knows as divine Mind's reflection. Therefore, he is conscious infinitely and eternally of the perfect activity of true being. Understanding and acting from this positive standpoint, we see that there can be no disturbing or disturbed element anywhere. Isaiah says of God (26:3), "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."

Just as darkness disappears when a light is turned on, so evil disappears into nothingness when we know that man and the universe are spiritual and perfect. Just as darkness and light cannot dwell together, so thought filled with the concept of perfect God and perfect, spiritual man and universe cannot at the same time see discordant matter as real.

We must claim the spiritual facts and utilize them in daily living by consistently expressing toward all humanity the attributes of Spirit. Unless we exercise the qualities of God in human experience, our knowledge of the letter lacks divine power. Mrs. Eddy says of Love (Science and Health, p. 113), "Without this, the letter is but the dead body of Science,—pulseless, cold, inanimate."

The calm and emphatic denial of the specific claims of evil with which we are confronted, coupled with the acceptance in consciousness of perfect God and perfect man, can bring healing quickly. We need feel no sense of strain or disturbance over the counterfeit picture. Whether error claims to be here or there, in this one or that one, it is always the same lie and liar, a false appearance only. If the healing appears slowly, we should not accept discouragement. Inspiration comes constantly from the divine source to destroy claims of frustration or obstruction of any sort.

We need not be mesmerized into the painful experience of trying to find perfection in mortal man and a material universe. As we learn to see man as the likeness of God, no material pattern, no mortal personality can becloud our vision. Instead, we comprehend individuality, the undisturbed reflection of our perfect Father-Mother God. We see a spiritual plan of unmarred harmony, the perfect order and manifestation of the Life that is God.

Through our obedience to the teachings of Christian Science it is possible for us to express progressively the great love and Christ-spirit exemplified by Jesus. Our thought can become a transparency for good instead of an obstruction to good.

It is our privilege to decide which it shall be, and we need not delay taking the right stand. We can go progressively forward, seeing the claims of disturbing evil elements dissolve until the glad awakening comes completely. Here and now in our real being we cannot possibly be disturbed any more than the reflection of a beautiful tree, serene and stately, is turbulent in still waters.

Let us persist in our endeavor to waken from this dream of a material universe, with its many minds and personalities, and see man and the universe as they truly are, perfect and eternal. Let us claim our birthright of clear-sightedness and dominion as sons of God and remain always undisturbed.