Article June 17, 1961 Issue

True Discipleship and Discipline

[From a teacher in a branch church Sunday School]

"Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find" (John 21:6) was the command which Christ Jesus gave his disciples. They proved their discipleship by heeding Christ's discipline, turning from matter to Spirit. Then they found deliverance from the limitation of undisciplined material thinking.

Since the words "disciple" and "discipline" are derived from the same Latin word, there is a close relationship between a right sense of discipline and being a true disciple of our Master. The noun "discipline" means "training... which corrects, molds, strengthens, or perfects." The verb means "to order and correct the operation of, as one's talent or faculties; to train in self-control or obedience." Thus in following the Christ, Christian Science Sunday School teachers are disciples, or students, active in the discipline of the Christ Science.

The teacher's discipline is to establish divine order within his own thinking first. This requires disciplined consecration in prayer, study, and practice. Disciplined consecration inspires, armors, and brings spiritual understanding. It corrects false concepts about ourselves and others, molds thought and experience according to divine Principle, strengthens and perfects daily activities. It is the discipline of divine Love that enables the teacher to hold the correct concept of the pupils and dispels the aggressive suggestions of indifference, disobedience, and resistance to Truth. It is the discipline of divine Love that makes it possible for a teacher to see the pupils as receptive to Christ, Truth. Then the belief in anti-Christ cannot mesmerize the teacher to think of the youth of today as incorrigible, disobedient, and disinterested in spiritual things.

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