Discovering more of your true nature
It's only natural to want to look good on the outside, but what about the inner man?
Every day you probably give some thought to the clothes you will wear, the neatness of your hair, and your overall appearance. When you look in the mirror you make any improvements that are necessary. But how much thought do you give to your character? Do you give it as much thought as you do your appearance? Do you daily ask yourself, How can I bring out more of my true nature today?
Some individuals would answer "no" to this question because they feel they have nothing beyond their present narrow concept of themselves to look for and express. Because they believe their nature is the fixed result of heredity, race, environment, and other material causes over which they have little or no control. Also because such questions never even occur to them.
Why should you be interested in discovering more of your true nature? Suppose an expert were to tell you that you have a talent for tennis or writing. If you believed the person and were interested in the activity, you would be likely to try to develop this talent. If our true being is spiritual and Godlike, as the Bible tells us, we might well want to investigate this nature further, especially in its relation to healing.
A Christian Scientist studies the Bible, together with Mrs. Eddy's book Science and Health, which brings out the healing message of the Bible, to learn more about his or her true nature and how to express it. Through such prayerful study, many are waking up to their true nature and more fully claiming their divine inheritance.
Learning to express this true nature may be a quiet, almost gentle experience. Or it can be very dramatic, as in the case of Saul of Tarsus, who, according to the New Testament, at first diligently persecuted the early Christians. See Acts 9:1–20 .
On one of his missions to arrest Christians, Saul was suddenly bathed in a light from heaven and realized the error of his ways. This experience left him blind, but at divine direction a disciple named Ananias healed him. Through this experience Saul perceived the Christ, the divine nature Jesus so fully expressed, and was filled with the Holy Ghost. He turned from being a persecutor of Christians to become a devoted follower of Christ Jesus. What a remarkable transformation had taken place! Even his name was changed to Paul. This experience certainly illustrates the definition of Christ in Science and Health: "The divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error." Science and Health, p. 583.
The divine nature illustrated by Christ Jesus contains no mortal elements such as hate, apathy, greed, impatience, self-love, fear, pride, and sensualism. Being the exact opposite of the mortal, it includes such immortal qualities as love, goodness, unselfishness, intelligence, wisdom, humility, and purity.
Although the most profound example was the life of Christ Jesus, each individual already expresses something of the divine nature. In fact, if you think about it, you will recognize that you include and are already expressing, in a degree, the divine qualities just mentioned, and many others. You may also, however, find qualities of thought that clearly do not come from the divine source. Seeing the characteristics that need correction reveals the larger mistake we must each overcome, namely, acceptance of the generally held belief that man's nature is a mixture of good and bad.
The origin of this belief that man can have a nature other than Godlike is described in the second chapter of Genesis. There we are told that God made man "of the dust of the ground." See Gen. 2:7. The first account of creation is the exact opposite of the second. In the first account it is recorded that God found everything He had made very good. See Gen. 1:31 . In this account, man is made in God's likeness and expresses only the divine nature.
It takes more effort, study, and practice than you would expend to develop a talent for tennis or for writing! But it leads to healing.
What basis is there for considering the first account true and the second false? Science and Health explains: "The Science of the first record proves the falsity of the second. If one is true, the other is false, for they are antagonistic. The first record assigns all might and government to God, and endows man out of God's perfection and power. The second record chronicles man as mutable and mortal,—as having broken away from Deity and as revolving in an orbit of his own. Existence, separate from divinity, Science explains as impossible." Science and Health, p. 522.
A creation that starts from dust ends in dust. Certainly this is not what you want to accept as the source of your life and character. But we should not just brush off this mistaken concept of creation. We should thoroughly eliminate it.
How does an individual demonstrate more of his or her true nature? Prayer is the key, but the demonstration or transformation may take place by degrees. It is brought about as you give up false concepts of identity and replace the mortal sense of man with spiritual knowledge. It involves accepting—and living in accord with—the truths of the first account of creation and considering the function of the second as an allegory that discredits evil. This will take more effort, study, and practice than you would expend to develop a talent for tennis or for writing! But it does lead to healing.
For example, a high-school student was experiencing a great deal of fear and nervousness. Since he was a regular attendant at a Christian Science Sunday School, where he was beginning to learn how Christian Science can be applied to healing sickness, he called on a Christian Science practitioner to help him through prayer. After his first visit to the practitioner he left with a sense of peace and a feeling of Christlike love he had never experienced before. This Christlike love was manifested in the way he felt about everyone he saw, met, or even thought about. With further help from the practitioner he entirely overcame the fear and nervousness and also continued this transformation of his character.
When the student met someone he had not seen for some time, the friend commented, "You have changed—even your appearance has changed." This student had changed. He had discovered more of his true, spiritual being. He was healed in mind and body.
This change to a more Christlike character happened to Saul; it happened in a degree to the student; and it has happened to thousands of other individuals. In Unity of Good Mrs. Eddy declares: "Sooner or later the whole human race will learn that, in proportion as the spotless selfhood of God is understood, human nature will be renovated, and man will receive a higher selfhood, derived from God, and the redemption of mortals from sin, sickness, and death be established on everlasting foundations." Un., p. 6.
The change in Saul, who became Paul the Apostle, took place when he was ready to be obedient to God's direction, and it involved his gaining a very clear perception of the source of man's true nature. While addressing a group of Greeks on Mars' Hill, as recorded in Acts, he said of God, "For in him we live, and move, and have our being." Acts 17:28.
As with Paul, your character can be completely transformed. The results of this transformation will touch and enrich every aspect of your life and the lives of those you come in contact with.
