"The resuscitating law of Life"

Ella W. Hoag

On page 180 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes: "In Science one must understand the resuscitating law of Life. This is the seed within itself bearing fruit after its kind, spoken of in Genesis." To the earthweary,—weary of all the inharmonies, the sins and sicknesses, the fears and limitations which make up so large a share of mortal existence,—this thought-compelling statement, when understood, holds the promise of all good.

The Christian Scientist, who recognizes Mrs. Eddy as God's chosen revelator of the truth to this age, knows not only that her statements are always demonstrable, but that it is God's purpose that every individual shall prove them to be so. The Scientist therefore accepts the fact that there is a "resuscitating law of Life" which he must learn to understand and demonstrate. He recognizes that this law which Christian Science so clearly reveals is the seed which inevitably brings forth fruit after the very nature of Life itself; and since Life is divine Mind, he also realizes that he must dwell with the thoughts of this Mind if he would prove that the resuscitating law they express is controlling all his affairs and experiences.

What Soul-lighted vision is this, that the thoughts of Truth are always present for us to cling to, and that they contain the seed which is to bring forth a fruitage of untold good! We are not responsible for the seed; we are not responsible for the fruit—they are both forever safe in God's loving, omnipotent care; but we are responsible that we obey divine Mind by keeping this law of Life constantly active in our thinking. Every time we affirm a truth, God's resuscitating law is operating. It is at work, and therefore the word of truth we declare is all-powerful to bring forth its own rich results. Jesus said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." While Jesus never claimed that any words of truth were his apart from God, he nevertheless knew that because they were of God their perfect fruition was inevitable. He knew that the word of Truth can never be separated for a moment from the seed within itself, which must produce fruit after its own divine kind.

Now sometimes in our efforts as Christian Scientists to follow in Jesus' footsteps,—in our endeavor to hold steadfastly to the truth,—we may have seemed to see nothing resulting but disappointment and failure. Suppose our best endeavors to think and do right appear to result in little but misjudgment and misunderstanding from others! Are we to believe for an instant that the law of Life has failed? Are we to admit that the truth we have declared has been separated from its own seed with its own right fruition? Certainly not! All we need to do at such times is to turn from the contemplation of our own hurt or offended sense—from our own fear of and belief in the lie which would say that there is a power which can hinder the right operation of God's law; and then holding unwaveringly to good we shall surely find good resuscitated in our thinking and experience.

The supposititious effort of error is always to stop the activity which is the expression of divine Life and its holy, beneficent law. Always error would argue that there is little if any use in persevering in the endeavor to prove the power and presence of God's law. At the bottom of all discouragement and disappointment is the belief in evil which would insist that the word of Truth we are trying to prove true is powerless for good. As we awake to see that the supposititious effort of error is ever to prevent the operation of God's "resuscitating law of Life;" as we see that evil claims always to interfere with and separate us from right mental activity, and that evil's supposedly most potent word of authority to all good is "Stop!" we shall not so quickly succumb to the arguments of disappointment and discouragement.

How paltry, how flimsy, is such a word as "stop" when spoken with a purpose to hinder good! We have, therefore, only to realize the infinite might and majesty of a single word of pure and holy Truth, which is eternally supported by the invincible law of divine Mind, to see that there is no least satisfaction in listening or yielding to evil beliefs of stoppage or inaction. Instead, as we speedily return to divine Mind's active law, we shall know that we have only to continue to use the thoughts of Truth to find the all-powerful law of God going steadily on in our thinking and living to its own rich, inevitable fruitage of all-glorious, all-perfect good.

Ella W. Hoag

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Notes from the Publishing House

March 26, 1927

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