Thoughts in Christian Science

The teaching of Christian Science makes unity of thought with us, as a people, unqualifiedly essential, if we desire success in overcoming even the uneducated forces of mortal mind. There should be the bond of union and sympathy between us that comes from the spiritual sense of our oneness in Christ—a practical Christianity, wherein the Spirit should supersede the letter, and technicalities should give place to the demonstrable.

A veneering of Christianity does not make a man a Christian. Nay, if he is not honest in his profession, it makes him a greater villain. Our motives need looking after, not by each for others, but by each for himself; and we must be positive that the objective point is Truth. If our own motives are pure, then we shall be better able to discuss the worthiness of others, as is sometimes necessary; but we can not sit in cool judgment upon any, and should extend helpful thoughts to all.

We should have charity,—not the charity that covers sin, but that which gives the brother or sister a chance to work out his or her salvation. If we remember the command of our Master, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone,” we should have, perhaps, a greater disgust for error, beginning with that in our own thought, and so become more deserving of the appellation, Christian Scientist. The demand upon us as individuals, to meet every emergency with courage and patience, was never greater than now. The difficulties that beset us seem many; but if we are faithful, we have much to hope for in the result. At times, apparent obstacles block the way, and the dark sea of tribulation seems ready to engulf us. Trust and faith in infinite Love must sustain us, until we realize in some small degree that we can not be swamped in the dark morass of doubt and fear, which tempts us to swerve from our allegiance to Divine Principle.

What shall be the rules or methods that are to help on this work of unification? First, is hearty recognition and understanding of the Scriptures. Christian Scientists know the rock on which they build; i.e., Christ Jesus. We give a hearty adherence to the letter and the spirit of that article of the tenets of the mother church in Boston which reads, “As adherents of Truth, we take the Scriptures for our guide to Life.” On this plank every Christian Scientist stands squarely. Inseparably connected with this and growing out of it is, second, the recognition of the sacredness of the teachings of Science and Health , and the relation of sympathy and loyalty that we one and all sustain to our Teacher and Leader. This means that we will listen in the future even more willingly than we have in the past to the voice that comes to us through the personality of her whom God has sent to be our Leader through the “Red Sea” of animal magnetism. If we have learned anything in the bitter experience of the past it is the danger, the peril there is in not heeding her counsel. On this point, also, all Christian Scientists are a unit. These are the keynotes of Christian Science orthodoxy.

But, brothers and sisters, loyalty to our Teacher does not mean that we shall harass and annoy her with all the petty details that come up in the daily management of these churches. She must not be made to “serve tables,” as she is made to serve by our running to her with all our complaints and troubles. Hers is a higher mission. She is called up into the Mount of Transfiguration.

An incident that has come under my own observation is to the point: A western church which once sought to have her settle some minor matter received this common sense and spiritual reply: “Be loyal to the spirit of my teachings, then do your work in your own way.” On all occasions of importance, at critical moments when the danger signal is shown, we shall seek her advice. It will be gladly given, and we shall loyally follow it; but we must learn to go alone. The child is old enough and big enough to walk.

In hours of darkness and despair, in moments of pain and weakness, one’s sorrow is not lightened by cold words of clean-cut logic. The wounds more quickly heal when into them is poured the wine of true sympathy and the oil of Love, and they are bound up by the hand of tenderness and compassion.

When one is weary with the pressure of many burdens, it is not logic, but the friendliness of Love, which gives inward peace. It is not logic, but Love, shining out upon the stormy sea of error, which leads the wanderer home. Love, not logic, bends above the couch of suffering. Love sheds the light of hope across the way, as the frail bark glides out upon the waters which break on the shores of eternity. Love is the bow of promise set amidst the clouds of human woe; its piercing rays transform the cloud’s seeming blackness into glistening gold. Logic is the tool by which material mind accomplishes results; and, before the dawn of spiritual perception it serves Truth negatively, by continually proving the falsity of the physical senses. Logic is the straw at which man grasps, to draw himself out of the waters of belief which threaten to engulf him. Love is the strong arm which, encircling him, places his feet upon the dry land of spiritual intelligence. Intellectual apprehension is the “voice of one crying in the wilderness” of material belief, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” He for whose approach we watch, is Love, “in whom shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” The light of intellect is the gray dawn of the morning which heralds the coming day, “wherein is needed no sun, neither light, for the Lord God giveth light;” and God is Love.

To manifest wisdom, and not Love, is an attempt to divide the seamless robe, wherein blend in eternal harmony both Love and Wisdom. Their union is indissoluble in Truth. Those whom God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. It is only the wisdom of this world that exalts the reasoning faculties, and silences the voice of the heart,—the open sesame of man’s spiritual nature. It is impossible to confound true wisdom with that which emanates from mortal thought. The wisdom of God, simultaneously with its apprehension, opens the floodgates of the heart; and the gentle and sweet peace of Love takes the place of doubt and despair.

Much has been said for and against Truth, as declared in Christian Science. Much is said for it; because no one can come to know its meaning, and the power it gives for good, without feeling that it is beyond all things else,—that in reality it embraces all, and there is naught beside it.

It is seen that in God’s government there can be no discord. Harmony reigns throughout; for all is governed by divine law,—the law of Love, or spiritual law. This understanding is not gained through the human mind, for all that this mind is capable of reaching will come to naught, because it is not of God. It is the carnal mind spoken of by Paul, through which man can gain nothing eternal, or really good; for all good is eternal.

All that pertains to the human mind can never get beyond materiality. Whatever may be said of its capacity, the human mind can never be said to lead into the spiritual. There is a wide gulf between human thought and man’s great capacities for good, attainable through his spiritual attainments; and he is truly great only as he is spiritual and good. The human mind, not being spiritual, must be material; and as all Truth is spiritual, for God is Truth and is All-in-all, then the human, or material mind, must be an error of belief.

Christ’s lowly and quiet workers unconsciously bless the world. They come out every morning from the presence of God, and go to their business or their household work. All day long they toil. They drop gentle words from their lips, and scatter little seeds of kindness about them; and to-morrow flowers of God spring up in the dusty streets of earth, and along the hard path of toil on which their feet tread.

More than once, in the Scriptures, the lives of God’s people are compared in their influence to the dew. There may be other points of analogy, but especially noteworthy is the quiet manner in which dew performs its ministry. It falls silently and imperceptibly. It makes no noise. No one hears its dropping. It chooses the darkness of night, when man is sleeping, and when no one can witness its beautiful work. It covers the leaves with clusters of pearls. It steals into the bosom of flowers, and leaves a new cupful of sweetness there. It pours itself down among the grass, and tender herbs, and plants, and in the morning there is fresh beauty everywhere. The fields look greener, and the flowers are more fragrant. All life sparkles with new splendor.

Is there no lesson here, as to the manner in which we should do good in this world? Should we not scatter blessings so silently, so sweetly, yet secretly, that no one should know what hand dropped them?

We hear the inquiry: How is it possible for us, while burdened with the cares and perplexities of this life, to hold ourselves in that realm of thought whereunto the Psalmist calls us? That is attainable only through spiritual growth, away from sense, into the the higher altitude of Soul. We can but “see through a glass darkly” now; but as the darksome mists of sensualism and error shall roll away, the brighter sunlight of immortal Truth will increasingly appear, till we shall have overcome the belief of the former, bask in the glorious realities of the latter, and enter into a building, “a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Such are the teachings of Truth. Just in the ratio in which we understand and apply the law of Christ—Truth—in our daily life, will the Divine promises appear in demonstration. The first requisite is the elimination from our thought of every phase of error, remembering that whatever appears real to mortal sense is unreal to Soul. Only from this basis of thought will Divine Truth, spiritual law, respond to our call. Truth never responds to error’s call, nor Soul to sense, any more than harmony responds to discord, or Love to hate. They being opposites, only the still small voice of Soul will open the spiritual fountain whereof we may partake and be healed,—with the promise also, that “It will be in us a well of living water, springing up into everlasting Life.”

The understanding that God is our Life; that there is no mortal life, no mortal mind; giving up our claim to a life separate from God; yielding to the divine law, and understanding that mortality is nothing but an illusion, an error, the work of evil, and that we have all this time been in bondage to it,—slaves not knowing our way out into the light,—all these ideas are included in the text.

“O fools and blind,” to yield to low beliefs, letting them master us at every turn; even after we are taught, wandering in the wilderness of doubt and fear, not being brave enough to start out. Oh, the light of the glorious Gospel of Truth, which sets us free from this law of sin and death! Oh, the blessedness of this knowledge of the infinite Love of God!

While we are rejecting Him, and turning constantly from Him to evil, still this Love reaches out its arms of mercy; calling us back to Him, begging us to come to the feast prepared for those who are willing to leave their fishing, their life in matter, and come to the understanding of Life in God. Walk in the light, as He is in the light, and gain your liberty,—freedom from the law of sin and death.

Now can we truly say: “I know that my Redeemer liveth, because I have tasted of his mercy,—I have realized the nothingness of matter, the falsity of all material joys, and have gained a glimmer of light from the true source. Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory, through Christ.” Oh, to be worthy to follow in the Master’s way! How unsatisfactory are the joys of this mortal life,—apples of Sodom, which turn to ashes in your grasp. When we think we have them, and can hold them, behold, nothing remains but the ashes of material hopes and joys; while the joys of Soul, of knowing God, will forever endure!

Every ray of light brings peace, happiness, and joy, in the knowledge that God is our Father, and we His children,—heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.

To me, this knowledge has come this morning with such light, I feel like saying Praise God! all the time. It seems now that no darkness could ever come again, nor wrong beliefs; for this light has shined into my heart. I can realize God’s Love, His grace and mercy, as never before, and our freedom from the bondage of sin and death. I do not wonder that at times the disciples of old could not see for the glory that shone around them. This is holy ground. We must remove our shoes, laying aside all materiality, and every mortal weight and sin—“the sin that doth so easily beset us,” for we have touched the hem of His garment, and gained a gleam of light, a faint realization of what may be ours when we gain more of the Truth.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land;
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

The sweet chimes of thought are ushering in the Christ. Streams of light gleam from the four corners of the earth, all centring in the very zenith of Christian Science. The dome of Heaven resounds with the chorus of angelic voices, chanting throughout immeasurable space the divine salutation of joy, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”; while borne on the zephyrs of Love comes the prophetic message: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”

What a word is this! Catching a gleam of this wonderful light, which now heralds the promised millennial day, the world is awakening slowly. It turns from its bed of ease, error, and wonders if it really is time to arise, wash in the Siloam of Truth, and put on its wedding-garment.

Dreaming over the supposed pleasures of mortal sense, little does the world know of the loving-kindness of the Father in giving this blessed Christ-child, the true idea of God, as present in Christian Science. It loses the blessing it might obtain by a conscientious investigation of this glorious Light, which is the Truth, the Life, and the Way, by stopping to argue and wrangle over its own erring sense of the Teacher whom God has chosen and endowed with the excellency of His grace, “not in the wisdom of this world, but in demonstration of Spirit and of power.”

One there is who stands to-day as the faithful and true watchman on the watchtower of Zion, voicing the inspiration of the Word in the language of the New Tongue, which gives the true call, “Behold the bridegroom cometh: go ye out to meet him with lamps trimmed and burning, filled with the consecrating oil of Divine Love, which, in its clear shining, will be as a light set on a stand.” She sends out myriads of rays through the darkness, to guide the weary and tempest-tossed into the peaceful haven of Truth.

Some are hearing that “voice as of many waters,” which penetrates the dark recesses of the heart, wakening the slumbering energies of thought; and with rejoicing, they are hastening to make the needful preparations for going forth, while others are turning away with the response “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”

The Mount of Transfiguration is an elevation of thought; a condition of mind. The unknown location of the Transfiguration scene shows that the condition of mind necessary to reproduce such a spiritual vision has not since been reached. Christian Scientists only can reproduce such a condition. No physical perception can reveal the Mount of Transfiguration. Its locale is mental.

Into this holy height Truth carried the three disciples. Up to its very summit they climbed, beyond all human conception and earthly din. Matter and the world lay beneath their feet. The other nine disciples, not so spiritual as the trio, were at the foot of the mountain, striving to heal an epileptic, trying to impress mankind with a sense of divine intelligence which the world did not afford. Although these nine were not spiritual enough to carry their thoughts into the lofty spiritual height with their companions, still they were in the way whose end was Christ. They were demonstrating the efficacy of divine understanding, for only by demonstration can mortal claims be overcome.

Earthly victories lift us to a consciousness of our eternal heritage. Through demonstration only do we scale the mountain-heights of Truth. No sickness, no discord, meet the three disciples on the Mount of Holy Assurance. Only in the valley can discord be seen.

We must look upon Jesus as a condition of Mind, the manifestation to mortals of Divine Truth, the expression of the infinite idea.

Science and Health is both the exponent of and Key to the Bible, and will live when all books; except the Bible and itself, have died of their own nothingness. “Ye do greatly err, not knowing the Scriptures,” said the Master Christian Scientist. We of this period of thought need no longer err on such a basis, since, read by the understanding gained from the inspired pages of Science and Health , the Bible becomes like a “lamp to our feet,” and sheds its beauty of hope and promise upon the children of light.

Well may we who love it (and who does not, who has ever known it?) rejoice to see the mighty upheaval of error it has caused. What a history has it had! Where are those who said it would never be read? It is still centuries ahead of the world in its teachings. When its author planted her feet on the rock of Truth twenty years ago,—saying, “All is Mind, there is no matter; all is Life, there is no death; all is Good, there is no evil; all is Love, there is no hate”—who listened, who saw, who read, who cared? Sojourners in a misty land of dreams, the dreamers slumbered on, drugged into apathy by Indian ghosts and fables. Did she change her war-cry, or cease to proclaim it from the housetops? No! the dreamers dreamed other dreams, but the Truth was unchangeable. Just as she uttered it at first, it stands to-day, proof against the whole tissue of error.

This is the crucial test of effectiveness in rebuke, that we give it with all long-suffering. “Simon, put up thy sword again into its place,” said the Lord to Peter. He would not have said it, had it been the Sword of Spirit that Simon was wielding; for the Sword of Spirit lays open the heart, while the sword of the flesh only cuts off the ears.

Now there has been a long succession of Petrine apostles, starting from this point, valiant Swordsmen of the Faith, whose principal trophies are severed ears, and not converted hearts,—who have preached with such two-edged severity as to alienate their hearers, when they should have won them.… We are not to rebuke for the sake of showing our valor or sharpness, but to win the offender.

Of course the simple Truth will often repel men, and drive them from us; and we are not to be alarmed for ourselves, and, least of all, for the Truth, on that account. It is an evidence of a genuine truth that, like its Master, it is spoken against. We know whether a tree bears good fruit, by the number of clubs and stones which lie about it in the autumn; and so those evangelical truths which, in all ages, have borne the richest products, have been most clubbed and pelted.

One may preach a hard truth in a very soft and winning way. What else does the Scripture mean, when it says, “By manifestation of Truth, commending ourselves to every man’s conscience, in the sight of God.” Ah! a minister never seems so lovely to a hearer, as when that hearer looks at him through a conscience which has first been wounded by the Sword of Spirit, which he wields, and is then healed by the Anointing of Spirit. If we ever have those in our flock who esteem us very highly in the Gospel, be sure it will be those who were once slain by the Word of our Testimony, and then made alive through Jesus Christ. Therefore with what gentleness and tenderness should we rebuke! Hear the direction of Scripture on this point, “Ye who are spiritual restore such a one.” “To be carnally minded is death,” always and everywhere.… Let us not forget that we are sent to save men, not to destroy them,—to win them, and not to wound them.

It is for us to set forth the beauty and excellence of Jesus Christ, and not to exhibit the follies and blemishes of human nature. For in either case we shall be unconsciously assimilated to the image of that on which we dwell. “I do not allow myself to look at a bad picture,” said Sir Peter Lely, the artist, “for if I do, my brush is certain to take a hint from it.” It is so, likewise, that caricaturists of human nature come at last to present very bad specimens of human nature in their own characters. They learn, unconsciously, to personate their own pictures, and to exemplify their own exaggerations. Take now and then a sorrowful look at human nature; but for one look in this direction, take ten toward the perfect Christ. Hold him up steadily and faithfully, and all the while you will be growing into the same image, from glory to glory.This is the sublime end of our preaching, not to picture brilliantly and pointedly the imperfections of humanity; but to exhibit the perfection of Jesus Christ, and to conform men to his glorious example, “warning every man, teaching every man, that we may present every man perfect in Christ.”