"Instruments of righteousness unto God"

VIRGINIA BROWN KUEMMIN

"The necessity ... is for mankind so to live and act
that ... qualities of God may shine forth"

Biblical history abounds in accounts of men who through their purity, righteousness, and unselfishness clearly identified themselves as "instruments of righteousness unto God" (Rom. 6:13). The narrative of the life of Joseph provides ample evidence of the ability of an individual, through selfless service to God, to hold himself above the claims of injustice and maliciousness. Though subjected to humiliating experiences, Joseph maintained such a Christliness that those with whom he was associated recognized that "the Lord was with him" (Gen. 39:23). Because he served God, good, in his daily experiences, "that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper."

That he may express true Christliness, the Christian Scientist strives to understand the truth of God and of man in His likeness. He learns that man, a spiritual idea of God, is inseparable from Him; that immortal man is always the complete reflection of God, manifesting Godlike qualities because of his spiritual heritage. He is the constant expression of purity and can never be used or abused by mortal mind.

The necessity, then, is for mankind so to live and act that these true qualities of God may shine forth in human experience. Thoughts which are pure, guileless, and spiritually true will lead to acts and words which are selfless and healing. In the inspiring words of the Bible and through the enlightenment which one receives from Mrs. Eddy's writings, the Christian Scientist has the inspiration and guidance necessary to lead him in the unwavering path of righteousness. He learns through spiritualization of thought that he is not a target for error, nor is he an instrument of evil; he is the unfettered reflection of God. On page 160 of Miscellany, Mrs. Eddy writes, "To live so as to keep human consciousness in constant relation with the divine, the spiritual, andthe eternal, is to individualize infinite power; and this is Christian Science."

The surest way to manifest God in every human experience is to be guided by spiritual sense at all times. When we turn away from the false physical testimony that man is created materially to the truth that he is spiritual, we experience the elevated and purified awareness of harmony which spiritual sense makes apparent. Jesus, the master of Christlike living and thinking, uncovered the mesmeric nature of the belief of life in matter. The pattern of his entire life was one of constant prayer.

In the fourth chapter of Matthew we read of Jesus' experience in the wilderness; he was tempted by the devil three times, but since he was spiritually fortified and pure, he was alert to the subtle nature of mortal mind and was not lured from his high office as Way-shower. The constancy he exemplified in this and other experiences serves as an example to those who seek to follow in his footsteps.

Consecrated effort to make one's daily acts and words conform to God's way results in blessings to oneself and to one's associates and graphically demonstrates to all mankind the reality of God, good. Mrs. Eddy retired three times daily to pray and reaffirm truths of being. This may indicate that it would be well for all students conscientiously and frequently to turn their thought to the absolute truths of being and so incline daily experiences Godward.

Earnest endeavor to follow the examples set forth by Jesus and by our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, will surely bring increased harmony into the lives of students of Christian Science and will free the human mind to accept the infinite and supreme nature of Truth. In "No and Yes," Mrs. Eddy writes (p. 17), "Man is the climax of creation; and God is not without an ever-present witness, testifying of Himself." When the Christian Scientist is alert to claim and maintain his identity as a perfect child of the one perfect God, he will be an effective witness to all mankind of the power and ever-presence of God, good—an instrument "of righteousness unto God."

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