Receiving and Utilizing Divine Ideas

FRANK HEDGES THOMPSON

Most people are interested in income. It is recorded in Matthew that when tribute money was due, Christ Jesus said to Peter, "Go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee." Jesus knew that divine Mind is the source of supply, and that prayer inspires one to recognize and receive divine ideas which meet one's need.

Obedience was first in the Master's thought. Obedience to divine law, which he so well understood, impelled him to turn to God for direction in taking the steps which would bring forth the needed supply. In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mary Baker Eddy says (p. 483), "In order to heal by Science, you must not be ignorant of the moral and spiritual demands of Science nor disobey them."

Jesus opened wide the door of his consciousness to the heavenly supply of spiritual ideas, and thereby he was enabled to multiply the loaves and fishes and feed the multitudes. He often communed with God, and because of this he was prepared to give generously and wisely to his disciples and the people who sought his help. He thanked God before he called Lazarus from the tomb, and before he fed those who had come to him in the desert place. He revealed and demonstrated the nature of true substance, always available to men.

In order to realize the abundance of good which God has provided impartially for all His children, it is necessary to give up the belief in matter as substance. The cleaner a window pane the better transparency it is for light; the less of materiality entertained in thought, the more of Truth is admitted to one's consciousness. Belief in the reality of past failures, handicaps, suffering, and deprivation is cleared from thought when we remember that in his true selfhood each one is God's perfect child, who never was poor, or sick, or discouraged, or hurt. In reality, one is now and always has been free, happy, uninjured.

God is our Father-Mother, rich in love and tenderness. He gives generously to all who seek and know Him aright. To hold a grudge against another is to believe in evil as real, and to limit oneself materially, which is poverty. How often do mortals go on struggling with a false belief in hard times and poverty, because God's riches of tenderness and love are obscured by resentment over a wrong believed to have been received in the past and still held in thought!

Is there someone who seems to be in need of a larger and steadier income? Mrs. Eddy writes (ibid., p. 494), "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need." One may believe his need is for money, material goods, or personal influence. Jesus taught that the pressing need of humanity is to seek and enter the kingdom of heaven. Divine Love meets every human need by awakening the needy ones to understand that the basis of all harmony and prosperity lies in the recognition of the perfection of God and man. So, if one is lacking in income, let him endeavor to realize his unity with God, the Father of all. Let him turn to Christian Science, which reveals the great spiritual fact that man, made in the image and likeness of God, is pure, perfect, and forever untouched by fear or lack. Let him understand that he cannot too soon relinquish belief in evil as real and powerful.

God is constantly supplying spiritual thoughts, which meet our need as we give them expression. To manifest courage, ability, forgiveness, honesty, and initiative ensures true income. Every good thought which enlightens the worker, enriching and enlarging his experience, is income. Every spiritual idea which, when received and utilized, purifies human selfhood, is income. Giving to God of one's time and thought in studying the Lesson-Sermon in the Christian Science Quarterly, and in attending the church services on Sundays and Wednesdays, is opening thought to income.

When these truths first began to unfold to a student of Christian Science, he was in great need: he thought he needed money more than anything else. Through the careful study of the Christian Science textbook and other authorized Christian Science literature, the true meaning of substance as Spirit was revealed to him. Gradually, Christian Science became plain and practical to him, and supply more regular, and sufficient. Further unfoldment of Truth revealed that substance is divine Love, which must be understood and wisely, generously, joyously reflected or expressed.

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