The Universality of Truth

Whenever an individual expresses good in preference to evil, at that moment he is proving that man possesses his rightful inheritance and is showing how much of God he knows. This fact is not rendered untrue because this individual is not definitely conscious of a desire to know God, neither would the approval of others be withheld from such a person because he chooses the better course instinctively rather than by conscious effort or after deep study and consideration of the merits of the right and wrong courses. In the active expression of God, or good, there are no divisions between individuals and there have been conspicuous cases in history where even the divisions of nationality have been overborne by the community of feeling engendered by the joint pursuit of a good aim. Those who study Christian Science and those who do not are therefore not really divided, for good cannot be exhausted any more than it can be monopolized, and the pursuit of the spiritual as opposed to the material is a common platform roomy enough for all the world.

Just as good is universal in one dimension, that of space, it is also universal in another, that of time. "Before Abraham was, I am," said Jesus, meaning as Mary Baker Eddy explains in Science and Health (p. 333), "The advent of Jesus of Nazareth marked the first century of the Christian era, but the Christ is without beginning of years or end of days. Throughout all generations both before and after the Christian era, the Christ, as the spiritual idea,—the reflection of God,—has come with some measure of power and grace to all prepared to receive Christ, Truth. Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and the prophets caught glorious glimpses of the Messiah, or Christ, which baptized these seers in the divine nature, the essence of Love. The divine image, idea, or Christ was, is, and ever will be inseparable from the divine Principle, God."

Through the pages of history can be found many examples of outstanding figures who have looked far enough beyond the evidences of the conditions around them to see the advantages of founding their actions upon the basis of Principle rather than expediency or the dictates of fear. Men have left a sphere of work in which they have been occupied for a lifetime for the sake of what they called conscience, and on the other hand have refused to leave their work under other circumstances for the same reason. Others have been distinguished for their courage in facing the intolerance and cruelty of mortal mind acting under the influence of mass suggestion and mob psychology. Nor has the recognition of the claims of Principle been confined to those who have adhered to Principle. Even those who oppose it and are accustomed to be ruled by other considerations, acknowledge the power of Truth by the tacit recognition of the threat it contains as regards their own position. If one's own position in any matter is founded on the highest considerations there is no need to fear, but conscience makes cowards, and Truth and right have ever contained a rebuke to those opposed to them.

Short of ultimate perfection there are many different stages at which individuals have arrived in their understanding of Principle and it ill becomes us to judge of the demonstration that others may have achieved. In the pursuit of Truth there is room for all on the road, and with progress comes confidence born of success in overcoming error. Courage is in fact a testimonial to work well done and the strength that successful demonstration of understanding gives us attracts men unto us, for it is like a beacon "set on an hill." Mankind is always searching for something to sustain it in its wrestling with its problems and since all men have proved their understanding in some aspect of life there is no individual incapable of giving help to others. Here is the common ground for all. We all need Truth, even if some of us think we need it in more tangible form than others do, in some outward manifestation.

Physical healing is a case in point. To Christ Jesus disease did not exist, and it disappeared even in the belief of those who suffered from it, whenever he undertook to prove its unreality. But in helping those whose spiritual understanding was on a different level from his own Jesus had compassion and healed them in that particular thing which troubled them, not burdening them in their harassed state of mind with explanations of the real relation of God to man but removing first of all what was really only an effect, not a cause, so that the door to their understanding might be opened through their gratitude. Then they were in a position to appreciate larger considerations and to satisfy the demands of Truth which had healed them. In Jesus' healing there was no intellectual stone offered to those who needed bread. As Mrs. Eddy says on page 367 of Science and Health, "The tender word and Christian encouragement of an invalid, pitiful patience with his fears and the removal of them, are better than hecatombs of gushing theories, stereotyped borrowed speeches, and the doling of arguments, which are but so many parodies on legitimate Christian Science, aflame with divine Love."

Jesus provided the finest example of spiritual healing for the guidance of the practitioner of Christian Science, and his wonderful and tender compassion is essential to continued good work in the healing of human problems, with a wisdom which will point out the moment when the pure water of Truth can be offered to the needy patient, with benefit to himself and others. Whether an individual is suffering from the belief of sickness or of sin, the truth has often to be realized by the practitioner alone before it can be voiced to the receptive thought of the one needing the healing. Particularly is this the case in drunkenness, the writer has observed. A helping hand and exhibition of patience with the delusions and fatuities of the intoxicated state have often opened up an opportunity to place the seed of right desire where it was needed and to strike a blow for righteousness, with good results. So with any other claim of error; when the immediate appearance of reality has been got rid of, the channel has been opened for the truth at exactly the right time, when a blunt declaration for which the ground had not been prepared might have resulted in a stirring up of thought not helpful for the moment. Therefore, to quote from the prophecy of Isaiah: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned."

Copyright, 1921, by The Christian Science Publishing Society, Falmouth and St. Paul Streets, Boston, Massachusetts. Entered at Boston post office as second-class matter. Acceptance for mailing at a special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 11, 1918.

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE
Article
True Living
September 10, 1921
Contents

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit