Christ Jesus did all things well. Yet once, when a young man addressed him as "Good Master," Jesus replied, "Why callest thou me good?" He went on to say, "There is none good but one, that is, God" (Matt. 19:16, 17). By acknowledging only one source of goodness and ability, Jesus was indicating that he knew he possessed by reflection all that is good.

A reflection is governed by and expresses the original. Pointing to man's nature as God's spiritual reflection, Paul writes, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (II Cor. 3:18). Mortal thought, not knowing God as the one infinite Mind or man as God's likeness, is inclined to worship a little good called "me"—material personality. It bestows upon this idol a personal sense of achievement, self-importance, self-love.

Jesus never indulged any of this; knew there but one real and lasting glory. It is the reflected glory of God. Before his crucifixion, Jesus said in prayer: "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was" (John 17:4, 5).

In an Old Testament account we find quite a different attitude in Naaman, an honorable, mighty military man, who was a leper. When he came to the prophet Elisha for healing, he must have expected much attention because of his rank (see II Kings 5:1-15). Instead, Elisha sent a servant to tell him to go and dip himself seven times in the river Jordan. Naaman was angry, and he refused, declaring that the rivers of his native Syria—Abana and Pharpar—were better to bathe in "than all the waters of Israel."

Was the prophet's request symbolic of the fact that healing involves purifying thought and character, surrendering the mortal to the divine at every point? The mortal—with its personal sense of needs and abilities—has to be seen as an illusion, a dream. It is never the real. In Science and Health Mary Baker Eddy writes: "The apostle says: 'For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.' This thought of human, material nothingness, which Science inculcates, enrages the carnal mind and is the main cause of the carnal mind's antagonism" (p. 345).

Instead of complete surrender to God's will, too often, like Naaman, we justify our material points of view and want to hold on to some of our own personal beliefs. Yet in the garden of Gethsemane on the night before his crucifixion, Jesus demonstrated the need for complete surrender to the will of God. All mortal self-preservation and self-justification must yield to the truth of man's nature as reflection. Far from lessening or wiping out a sense of individuality, such purification helps bring to light the wholeness, beauty, and distinctness of our individuality as the very likeness of God. It enables us to express greater wisdom and joy.

The fact is that mortal existence at its best is only temporary, and the mortal sense of man fades as the dream it is. It cannot give, or take away, our joy or well-being. God's man, as demonstrated by Jesus, is glorified of the Father. This is our true and only identity; we are God's expression, Mind's idea, its image and likeness, forever held in a state of perfection. Acknowledging that man reflects the Father is true humility, which bestows upon the individual spiritual power and authority.

We must be willing to clear out all self-love, self-will, self-justification. What brings about this cleansing is true thoughts, which like the "pure river of water of life," described in the book of Revelation (22:1), flow forth from the throne of God. Divine Life is the only true source of being man has. As this fact is understood, the false is cleared away, making room for the true; we are assured of healing.

Healing came to Naaman when he humbly fulfilled the prophet's request. Let us then not rebel at self-examination, but gladly wash seven times, so to speak, so that thought is purified of all the false beliefs of the flesh. Step by step sin, disease, and death will be seen for what they are, a lie, and the false sense of self with its egotism, deception, and fears will increasingly be laid aside. In this way we are truly baptized with the water of Spirit, spiritual understanding.

When that young man came calling Jesus "Good Master," he asked Jesus how he could be assured of eternal life (see Matt. 19:16–22). Jesus instructed him to keep the commandments, to which the young man replied he had kept them all his life. Jesus then told him to go and sell all he had and give to the poor, and the Bible says the young man went away sorrowful because he had great possessions.

The young's man's response seems similar to Naaman's first reaction to Elisha's command. One might say that Naaman too had had great possessions—among which may have been pride, egotism, vainglory, self-importance. But he finally yielded to the demands of Truth and was freed from the leprosy. Are we willing to leave behind such possessions, to sell all and give to the poor? Are we eager to devote our time to healing, to demonstrating the Christ, Truth, which frees and blesses our fellowman? Or are we tempted to use Christian Science for our own personal gain, serving that little god called "me"?

The Way-shower, Christ Jesus, surrendered all to God, and following his example, Mrs. Eddy devoted many years to making the Science of Christ known to humanity. We can happily be willing to give up whatever impedes progress, following the example of the Way-shower, Christ Jesus. Jesus referred to this work as plucking out the right eye or cutting off the right hand (see Matt. 5:29, 30). We must be willing to lay down all for Christ. As this is done, the stream is stirred and purified and the false sense of self laid aside for the true. The purity of thought that comes from Mind is a river of joy, peace, health, happiness.