Article September 13, 1958 Issue

MAKE THE EFFORT

BEVERLY BEMIS HAWKS

When Christ Jesus said to the palsied man (Luke 5:24), "I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house," the response was instant. "Immediately he rose up before them." The man was obedient to Jesus' requirement. He made the effort. His getting up was not human will but rather a response to the Christly demand for perfection. Again and again through Jesus' statements, such as (John 5:14), "Sin no more," and (Matt. 12:13), "Stretch forth thine hand," we discover that the individual who was seeking healing had to acknowledge God's power and activity and make an effort himself.

In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy tells us (p. 89), "We are all capable of more than we do." Mortal-mindedness would sometimes lull us into believing that right activity is impossible. Nothing is impossible with God. Do we honestly rely upon the knowledge that God is our substance? Have we said, "I've prayed and prayed, and my healing has not come"? Are we really making the effort to express perfection, or are we tolerating the problem? Is fear, or timidity, or lack of response keeping us from having confidence in our work or in another's work?

God, or good, will never be anymore All than He is right now. God is all good, perfect, and eternal—infinite; His reflection, man, naturally expresses this allness of good. God, or Mind, knows. Man, His idea responds.

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