Charles V. Winn, C.S.B., of Pasadena, California
Member of the Board of Lectureship of The
Mother Church,
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts
A lecture on Christian Science was given under the auspices of Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, of Chicago, in the Southtown Theatre, 610 West 63rd Street, Wednesday noon, October 19, by Charles V. Winn, C.S.B., of Pasadena, California, member of the Board of Lectureship of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts.
The subject of the lecture was "Christian Science: Its Compassionate and Loving Ministry." Mr. Winn spoke substantially as follows:
Many centuries ago there came to the world a man sent of God, a messenger of hope, a servant of the Most High, bringing to humanity a gospel of joy and healing. This man, Jesus the Christ, brought to the world the highest concept of God, the noblest concept of man, that had ever come to the human consciousness. He not only set forth his sublime teachings with clarity and love, but he demonstrated their truth with undeniable proof and works. He came, not only preaching God's infinite love, but showing us plainly how everyone can share in the boundless love of the Father. His great compassion and sublime tenderness found utterance in that gracious invitation, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Was this invitation intended only for those of Jesus' day and time? No! Truth is universal and eternal. Its message is for all peoples and climes, and the Christ is still saying to all earth's children, Come unto me and ye shall find rest from all your woes and sorrows, your sins, and your diseases, through the power of God, here and now.
The word "minister" means "to do things needful or helpful; to render aid; to be serviceable: to give or supply something." No matter how successful and efficient one may be, there comes a time in everyone's life when his human efforts fail him. He is inevitably forced to reach out to some power beyond and above himself in order to overcome his difficulties. While this may seem to be a time of discouragement, it is really a period of great hopefulness. The man who reaches the place in his mental journey where he sees the futility of mere human will, the inability of the human intellect to guide him aright, the utter failure of material means and methods to heal him, the inability of material pleasures and sensual indulgences to bring true happiness, has taken the first step toward his deliverance. It is right here that the compassionate and loving ministry of Christian Science comes to his aid, strengthens his courage, exalts his hope, supplies that which is needful, and leads him forward and onward.
Having reached this point of conviction that there is a divine power beyond and above the human and that this power is adequate to supply that which is needful, the next step is to learn the nature of that power and how that power can be applied to our human needs. It is here that the compassionate and loving ministry of Christian Science comes to our aid and teaches us the true nature of God or the supreme power of the universe. Surely we cannot avail ourselves of this supreme power unless we understand the nature, character, and essence of that power. Our ability to lay hold upon this power is in direct proportion to our comprehension of it. In Psalms we read, "God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God." Then the more we understand about God the more practically we can utilize His power.
In the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy (p. 465), we have this definition of Deity, "God is incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love." This clear, succinct definition of God has not only blessed the vast number of persons who have become Christian Scientists, but is rapidly transforming false theological beliefs and is leavening the whole of human thought. God's nature never changes; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but through uplifted thinking and exalted consciousness we can discern more and more of the divine character and attributes. How often we go to a familiar spot which we have visited many times, and see something we have never seen before! The landscape had not changed, but we took in more of the beauty that was always there; the scene had not changed, but our discernment of it had changed. In writing to the saints at Ephesus, Paul prayed that God might give unto them "the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; the eyes of (their) understanding being enlightened."
While in the definition just
quoted Mrs. Eddy has used the familiar Scriptural terms for God, she has also
used other terms which do not appear in the Bible. These terms bring to our
thought phases of His character which are constantly set forth in the Bible and
thus are both logical and Scriptural. But the most basic reason for their use
is that they are demonstrable and provable. In a very striking passage in the
Christian Science textbook, its author has written (p. 547), "You can
prove for yourself, dear reader, the Science of healing, and so ascertain if
the author has given you the correct interpretation of Scripture." Surely
we could not ask for more than tangible, unassailable, definite proof.
In Job we are admonished, "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee," so let us see how we can gain that true understanding of God and thus lay hold upon that power divine which brings into human experience abiding joy, peace, and healing. The understanding of God as Mind is most helpful in enabling us to prove His power and presence. The word "infinite," which Christian Science constantly uses in connection with Mind, is of great significance and importance. The word "infinite" means "unlimited." That which is infinite has no peer, no competitor, no opponent, for there is nothing outside of it or beyond it. An infinite power must be all-power, for there is none beside it that can restrain it or curtail its activity. There is nothing that can be opposed to the infinite and All. As the Bible so clearly declares, "He is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth."
Since God is Mind and All-power He must be the only creator, and Mind's creation must be the only creation. There is no other power that could bring anything into being. Right here Christian Science gives us another most helpful truth about God, or Mind, namely, that "Mind in every case is the eternal God, good" (Science and Health, p. 415). Since God is Mind, the only power, the only creator, then God's creation is a good creation. The power of infinite good that brought it into being must be supremely active in that creation. The only law operating in that creation is the law of Mind or good. The Scriptures frequently refer to the wisdom and knowledge of God. Wisdom is supreme, divine, unerring intelligence, and He who is all-wise governs His creation wisely, intelligently, and beneficently. The power of Mind or supreme good always operates to bring into manifestation the highest degree of good, the greatest manifestation of good.
In the light of the foregoing facts Christian Science, through its compassionate and loving ministry, shows us clearly and demonstrably the allness of good and the unreality of evil. The human mind has accepted the false belief in the reality of evil for so long that it is reluctant to acknowledge the great truth of being, the allness of good. It is only when proof displaces doubt and demonstration supersedes mere belief that the human mind forsakes its false basis and rejoices in healing. If a person does not think intelligently about something, he makes mistakes, that is, he gets the wrong answer in place of the right one. Evil is only a mistake, a mistaken sense or false concept about that which is true. To properly correct or overcome a mistake one must know the fact. To become impatient with one who has made the mistake is never helpful, but to show him lovingly and kindly where he is wrong and to explain graciously to the erring one what is right, is healing and redemptive. Argument never brings conviction; demonstration is all-conclusive.
A man who was suffering from ulcers of the throat once came into a Christian Science practitioner's office. He said that Christian Science had been recommended to him, but he did not see how Christian Science could do anything for him, as he was as atheist, and that he had no faith in Christian Science treatment. It was lovingly explained to him that he did not need to have any faith, but that after he had been healed through God's power he would naturally have faith resulting from incontrovertible proof. Under those conditions he was willing to have Christian Science treatment. The treatment was given and a later examination showed that the trouble had entirely disappeared. That one proof of the power of God made available to a man accomplished more than any amount of argument. The man who has lost his way and who has thereby wasted many valuable hours and traveled many useless miles needs to be shown the right way to reach his destination. To explain to him that he is on the wrong road is helpful, but to show him how to find the right road is best of all. After he has arrived at his destination quickly and safely he is not very apt to go back to the wrong road.
Since God is Mind, the one infinite good, the only power, He is the only presence. He who is All-power must be ever-present, for the supreme power of the universe could not be absent from the universe. How does God's power become operative in our experience? By the realization of His presence! The Bible speaks of "him that filleth all in all." The value and reality of anything is our consciousness of it. As we become conscious of the ever-presence of God or good, we lose the consciousness of evil and wrong, and its seeming power is rendered inoperative in our experience. God is ever-present. We only have to become conscious of His presence. As we are conscious of His presence we are unconscious of His absence. Because He is now here, evil is nowhere.
There was a man whose sight had almost entirely disappeared. He went to see a Christian Science practitioner, and a treatment was given. A Christian Science treatment is the realization of the all-power and ever-presence of good. In "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 364) our revered Leader tells us that a practitioner of Christian Science is able "to heal the sick, by recognizing the supremacy and allness of good." Since good and the power of good are ever-present, the ability to see must be ever-present. Sight is a gift of God and must have been right there, for God was there. When this truth was realized, the sufferer, like the man whom Jesus healed, "came seeing," and his sight was fully restored. It was proved that the God-bestowed ability to see was ever-present, the inability to see was never present, was never anything, anywhere, or anybody. The recognition of the presence of good was accomplished by the manifestation of the power, the activity, and expression of good.
The compassionate and loving ministry of Christian Science brings harmony to every situation, heals disease, uplifts human relationships into the realm of the good and true. The Psalmist sang, "Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence." All that is ever present in God's creation is that which he has brought into being. Infinite Mind and divine good has brought forth its own pure and perfect ideas, and they are all that are ever present or expressed. As we perceive and discern God's presence we become conscious of harmony, not discord; love, not hate; joy, not sorrow; affluence, not want; goodness and virtue, not sin and evil. The man whose back is turned toward the sunset does not see its beauty and grandeur; he is not looking in the right direction. Christian Science keeps us looking in the right direction. It enables us to hold our gaze Godward, not earthward; to Mind's perfect expression, not to error's presentments; to what God has done and which error has never undone.
As we are helped onward and upward through the gracious ministry of Christian Science, as we know God aright, as we discern His true creation, we have a basis or standard for our thinking by means of which we can bring into our lives that which is worthy and good and reject that which is baseless and false. The greatest treasure that we have, the most valuable possession, is the ability to think. That which will show us how to think aright is indeed priceless. To understand what is right and true is a divine gift with which no earthly talent can be compared. In speaking of it the Bible says: "Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." The most important business in which we are engaged is thinking. The right thinker is engaged in the most profitable business in the world. In our human affairs we naturally invest in those enterprises which bring us a right return and afford us the maximum of security and safety. The right thinker is engaged in a lofty enterprise whose returns never fail him, but are multiplied manyfold. His capital consists of right ideas and is never impaired, but remains intact and cannot be impaired.
The basis of all true thinking is most beautifully set forth in the Christian Science textbook on page 335, where we read, "Mind is the divine Principle, Love." How clearly this sets forth the foundation for that righteous thinking which alone brings peace, joy, success, health, and holiness! Since God is Mind and infinite Love, then every true thought must express Love. Every true thought originates in God, divine Mind, and must express Him. If any thought does not come from God, divine Love, then it is utterly lacking in truth, power, and reality. As we entertain those thoughts that reflect God, divine Love, the supreme power of the universe is on our side and we are on God's side. As the hymn so beautifully puts it, "He always wins who sides with God," for he is unfailingly on the right side. Every thought that expresses God has God's power behind it and is invincible. It cannot fail. Failure is unknown to God.
There was a man to whom a sum of money was owed which was being unlawfully withheld from him. One day, after making repeated efforts to secure that which was rightfully due him, but without success, he determined to make one more effort. Before doing so he carefully searched his own thought to see if he was acting in full conformity with that which was right. After a little heart-searching he found that he was withholding from another that which was his honest due. He immediately took care of this honest obligation, and inside of forty-eight hours he was paid the entire sum that was due him. When he aligned himself with that which was right, God's power became operative in his experience and the so-called power of evil was annulled. The thoughts of honesty and gratitude had omnipotence behind them; the thoughts of dishonesty and ingratitude were proved impotent and powerless. As the Bible so clearly states it, "In God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." As we entertain God's holy thoughts we need have no fear about what fleshly, carnal thinking is attempting to do, for it is nothing and can do nothing.
As we understand God better, as we see that He is always good, as we perceive more clearly that He is the only Mind and that the Mind that is God is infinite Love, we find the basis for all true healing and redemption. In seeking a method of accomplishing anything we necessarily seek that method which is most successful, and capable of bringing about the desired results. Jesus was the most successful healer who ever lived, and his method was the most efficient ever known. His work was unfailingly and unerringly effective, and surely we can find no better way. Every material method is relying on some sort of power. One person may rely on the supposed power of a drug to assuage his suffering; one may depend on surgery to help him; another may seek a change of climate to benefit him; but in every instance he believes that the system employed has the power to relieve him of his distress. All material methods are, by their very nature, limited, tentative, and uncertain. At one time they will seem to help and then again they utterly fail; they often seem to benefit one and not another. Sometimes material means bring other difficulties which are far worse than the original trouble.
A true method of healing must
operate uniformly, unerringly, and with divine certainty. Such a method was the
one that Jesus used in his compassionate and loving ministry. Jesus never
failed, even in the most extreme cases; he was never at a loss as to what to
do; he never classified disease as curable or incurable; he never at any time
admitted that it would take time to effect a cure, nor did he ever prophesy a
long period of convalescence or recovery. What was the secret of his unfailing
success? He was successful because he relied wholly and unreservedly on God,
that supreme and infinite power which creates and maintains the universe. He
knew that the power of God or good was unlimited and unrestricted, and because
it is supreme it is ever-operative and universally available. God is infinite
good and His power can only bring to pass goodness, health, holiness, harmony,
and right. No matter how long an evil condition has seemed to exist, its
seeming power is rendered null and void when God's supremacy is understood.
How beautifully Jesus proved this in the case of the boy who was afflicted with a dumb and deaf spirit, when his father brought him to Jesus for healing! You will recall that even the disciples had failed to cure him. Jesus asked the father how long this false condition had seemed to trouble the boy, and the father replied, "Of a child." Jesus then rebuked the dumb and deaf spirit and after he had cast him out the child was perfectly healed. Even though the difficulty had seemed to persist since childhood it was proved impotent and powerless. The power of infinite good had been there all the time; it had never been absent from God's universe, nor had it ever been unexpressed. Man's perfection and completeness forever exist in the Mind that is God. God's power, understood, only brings it into manifestation.
I knew a woman of quite advanced years who was perfectly healed in Christian Science of a serious difficulty that she had had all her earthly life. Another friend, although one whom the world called no longer young, was perfectly healed of total paralysis. Her testimony later appeared in one of our periodicals as an expression of gratitude to God for His goodness, beneficence, and love. True being is timeless and ageless. Infinite good knows no periods of ebb and flow, but is forever expressed to all His children. In the instance just referred to, Jesus "rebuked the foul spirit," which shows clearly that the malady was not primarily physical, although it seemed to express itself materially. The error was only a lying belief about man, and when Jesus rebuked it, repudiated it, and denied its reality and power, it was destroyed. False belief is never true, no matter how long it has been believed, and Jesus proved that although the discord had been present "of a child," it was not God-created and never was a part of man.
The compassionate and loving ministry of Christian Science brings to us another great blessing — the understanding of God as Spirit. It leads us forever away from any thought of God as corporeal, humanized or limited. It takes us completely away from the trammels and limitations of a finite belief about God and reveals to us His infinitude as omnipresent Spirit, infinite Truth, boundless Love, and limitless good. As we understand this great fact we gain a released sense of life and attain the great possibilities of tireless and infinite Being. In "Miscellaneous Writings" our beloved Leader tells us (p. 282), "Remember it is personality, and the sense of personality in God or in man, that limits man." God never limits man. "Of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace," and the recognition of this truth unfetters man and gives him that spiritual dominion that God gave the man of His creating and which is forever his by divine right. The Bible declares that God made man in His own image and likeness, and, since God is infinite Spirit, that likeness must be a spiritual or divinely mental likeness. It could not be a physical likeness but a likeness of character; that is, man must express the nature or qualities of God. God is Truth and man expresses Truth. God is Love, so man reflects Love. God is good, so man manifests the goodness of God. God is the only power, so man embodies the strength and power of God. The man of God, the real man, never manifests weakness, inability, incapacity or failure. Strength, ability, capacity, and freedom are inherent in man because he reflects God, good.
God is infinite Spirit, in whom is all good and from whom all good comes, or, as the Bible states it, it is God "who giveth us richly all things to enjoy." As we recognize our divine sonship we become spiritually aware or divinely conscious of that spiritual good or divine beneficence that is always at hand. Good does not increase or decrease, but through spiritual enlightenment we become increasingly conscious of its presence and power. When one manifests a degree of success we often hear it said, "He is making good." Of course such a phrase is not a correct statement of the true status of things. No one creates any good; God has created all the good there is and made it accessible to mankind. It is man's natural inheritance and his right to enjoy it. Our enjoyment of it is in direct proportion to our recognition of it. Humanity does not make good, but only appropriates the good that God has made.
There was a man who had thought of himself as incapable of doing a certain kind of work. Shortly after becoming a student of Christian Science he was offered a position along this line which he accepted and which he filled most worthily. The Scriptures declare, "I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord." Practically interpreted, spiritual understanding reveals that the man of God is a man of ability, strength, capacity, resourcefulness, keenness, and perspicacity. A proper recognition of the source of his ability brings with it that cardinal virtue, humility. When we see that all ability is God-derived, we use our talents not to exalt self but to glorify God. Self-exaltation darkens our way; God-glorification sheds the full light of truth and good on our path. As the hymn so beautifully puts it:
"God works in us to will,
He works in us to do;
His is the power by which we act,
His be the glory, too."
(Hymn 354, Christian
Science Hymnal).
Sometimes the human mind thinks of Spirit and spiritual things as intangible, vague, and visionary, but how clearly this misconception is dispelled when we read that simple definition of "Spirit" in the Christian Science textbook on page 594: "Mind; . . . all that is good; God." How near this brings God to us. We never see the human mind, yet we do not doubt its seeming tangibility for we constantly see its expression or manifestation. Everything we see is an expression of mind. Everything human or mortal is the manifestation of the mortal or human mind; everything that is real, divine, or immortal is the reflection or emanation of the divine Mind or God. The word "mortal" means that which is subject to death, so all that is included in mortal mind is temporal, illusive, and doomed to pass away. That which comes from the divine Mind is eternal, immortal, and will last forever. Good is everlasting and indestructible, and since Spirit is "all that is good," then all things spiritual are immortal and immutable. The more we know of "all that is good" the more of immortality we possess here and now. We do not gain immortality by mortal dying, but by immortal and spiritual knowing.
There was a man who was in the last stages of tuberculosis. Someone was kind enough to send him a Christian Science Sentinel, our weekly publication, in which was a testimony of one who had been healed of this difficulty. The man's interest was aroused by this testimony, and as a result he attended a Christian Science testimony meeting in a Christian Science church. His interest became more aroused. His next step was to go to a Christian Science practitioner and lay his case before him. The practitioner asked, "Do you believe in God?" and the man replied, "I certainly do." The next question was, "Do you believe the Bible where it says that 'God saw every thing he had made, and, behold, it was very good'?" The answer was, "Yes." The practitioner then said, "Then God could not possibly have made tuberculosis, for surely that is not good." To this statement the patient readily assented and he was instantly healed. Whereas this man had been looking to death to release him and had even made plans to hasten the end, he now found himself free and well through spiritual knowing and understanding. The knowing of immortal Truth brings immortal good into our experience; it dispels the darkness of mortality, disease, fear, and evil.
Since God is Spirit and the only power, all true power and energy must be spiritual and divine. The human mind has for so long thought of power as material and physical that it does not at once grasp this fact, but once it is demonstrated, doubt and uncertainty are dispelled. The tendency of the human mind is to relegate to the realm of the mysterious and indefinite that which it cannot see with the physical senses, but even the so-called physical forces cannot be seen by the eye. Light, heat, air, and electricity cannot be discerned by material sense. We can see their effects but we cannot see these so-called forces themselves. We believe that they exist because they produce certain results which become apparent to the senses. As we discern the supremacy of Spirit, spiritual energy, and spiritual law, then spiritual blessings flow into our experience, healing is certain, joy unconfined. These blessings are the sign of Immanuel or God with us, good with us, Life with us, Truth with us, boundless Love with us.
What we know about God, infinite good, endows us with the power of good: what we know about infinite Truth equips us with the strength of Truth; what we know about infinite Life gives us the dominion of Life. When we know God aright His power is present in consciousness. When it is present in consciousness the outward expression of good follows naturally and inevitably as the morning follows the night. God is everywhere present, and as we are conscious of this fact and dwell in thought upon His goodness, power and love, His divine ever-presence is always with us. The ever-presence of God is a law of utter destruction to evil's seeming presence. The recognition of God's nearness proves the absence of evil, its never-presence, its unreality. The Psalmist declared, "I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." We cannot be in any situation where we cannot think about God and where His presence and divine activity are not available to us. There was a lady who was living in a cabin out in the woods, quite far removed from her neighbors. She was a student of Christian Science and seemed to be struggling with a very serious difficulty. One night things looked very dark, but she clung steadfastly to God's presence and nearness, and during the night the trouble entirely disappeared. She proved that she was in God's presence where good alone is manifested and known. It was humanly impossible for her to secure anyone to help her, but through spiritual knowing she could avail herself of that divine aid that is unfailingly at hand.
Since God is infinite Spirit, "all that is good," the compassionate and loving ministry of Christian Science brings to us another great blessing — the understanding that true joy and happiness are spiritual. True joy and satisfaction come from God, infinite good, and the man who looks to God for his joy and pleasure is looking to an unlimited source, and peace and happiness can be his in full measure. Materiality, animality, and carnality cannot satisfy him, for they are contrary to his true nature and character. Even the seeming pleasures of matter and evil are temporal and fleeting and are followed by conditions of regret and remorse that far outweigh their even seeming temporary satisfaction. How different it is when we look to God and goodness for our joy! Every good thought entertained brings us more of good: every law of God obeyed brings greater freedom; every time we cling to that which is right, better and more righteous conditions are manifested in our experience. It is recorded of our great Master that after he had rejected the temptations in the wilderness angels came and ministered unto him. Christian Science teaches us that angels are "God's thoughts" (Science and Health, p. 581), ideas of infinite good, and as we reject the evil and welcome in the good, peace and joy come to us and abide with us. God's blessings come to the pure in heart, for they find a ready welcome there and there they abide.
We have all read about how when those who love birds go into the woods the birds readily come to them. I have in mind a place where the birds have been treated so kindly that they will readily come and eat out of one's hand. Love begets friendliness, and unselfishness calls forth trust. As we are mentally hospitable to the ideas of Spirit they come to us, bringing healing in their wings. Someone has said that blessings never come singly. God's ideas have a goodly company with them. If you raise the shade only partially of course you get some light; and if you raise it still higher you get more light; and if you raise it clear up you get the full light. The automobile whose tank is only half full of gas cannot travel as far as one with a full tank. The one who turns away from the flesh and fleshly indulgences and follows the way of purity and holiness, not partially, but fully, finds many blessings. This was beautifully proved in the case of a friend of mine who was healed of the smoking habit. He was also healed of deafness. Now I do not mean to say that the tobacco habit caused the deafness, but when he turned away from this fleshly indulgence or evil habit and won his freedom from this form of enslavement he also won his freedom from his bondage to deafness. The power of good is not restrained or confined, but breaks every yoke and lets the oppressed go free.
How beautifully the loving ministry of Christian Science reveals to us God as Soul! How it clears away mystery, gives us a true basis for our faith and a practical method for its application. Christian Science reveals to us clearly that Soul is not an impalpable something inside the body which escapes from its imprisonment only through death. In "Unity of Good" by Mary Baker Eddy we have this clear and understandable definition of Soul (p. 29), "Transcending the evidence of the material senses, Science declares God to be the Soul of all being, the only Mind and intelligence in the universe." How surely this takes away the finite sense of Soul as confined to the material body and gives us that infinite sense of Soul as divine, all-pervading intelligence — the all-knowing Mind whose resources are unlimited and are ever accessible to mankind.
The real man is the reflection of Soul, since he is God's image and likeness; he is, then, soulful, upright, good, unfettered, intelligent, capable, and at one with God. The real man is not going to become immortal by the escaping of his soul from his mortal body. God's man is immortal now, he is safe in Soul; he is untouched by earthliness and mortality. As he abides in Soul, divine intelligence, ignorance is dispelled and bondage to false theories is destroyed. We are told in our textbook (p. 269) that "metaphysics resolves things into thoughts, and exchanges the objects of sense for the ideas of Soul." All bondage and limitations are due to ignorance and lack of understanding. As we see the creation of Soul, the universe of divine intelligence, the man of God's creating, ideas of Mind, the light of Truth dispels the darkness of ignorance, misconception, and false belief.
Recently I was in a section of our country where beautiful wild oranges are raised. It was not so very long ago that these oranges were believed to be very poisonous. Of course they never were injurious or harmful. The belief that they were was a delusion. The people who entertained this falsity did not have to change the oranges; all they had to do was to change their belief about them. When they did so, their fears were overcome and nothingized. In the realm of Soul, God and divine Truth, there are no false beliefs to limit man, rob him of his joy, take away his health, or interfere with his supply of good. Since all good comes from Soul, infinite good, it is safe in God, protected by God, and governed by God.
How beautifully Jesus proved this in the case of the two blind men who followed him and asked him to have mercy upon them! Note you that Jesus did not ask them one word about their physical infirmity. He gave his entire attention to their mental condition. He asked them, "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" When they replied in the affirmative he declared, "According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened." The sight that God had created was right there and had never been altered, but Jesus opened their eyes, their understanding, to the manifestation of Soul — that perfect creation of God, where everything that He has created is perfect, right, good, and true. Some of the most beautiful flowers have been developed from what were once considered to be worthless weeds. God's perfect ideas are here and now. As thought is uplifted and purified we exchange "the objects of sense for the ideas of Soul" (Science and Health, p. 269).
We see the beauty of holiness, the grandeur of good, the majesty of Mind. The inexperienced mountain climber may have to stop far short of the summit, where his view is necessarily limited, but the hardy mountain climber goes to the summit, where his view is unobstructed in all directions. Christian Science lifts us to the heights of Soul, exalts our vision, and enables us to see in all its glory what God has created, the beautiful and the good, which is ours to enjoy now and forever.
The Bible tells us that our citizenship is in heaven. As children of Soul, as the ideas of God and the heirs of immortality, we have a heavenly estate, secure in the kingdom of Mind. To those of us who have gained some understanding of this great truth, what a privilege is granted in being followers of that great and noble woman, our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, who has brought this great truth to the world and made it available to all mankind. Truly she exemplified in the fullest degree that true ministry which is doing things needful and helpful, rendering aid and being serviceable. She brought to the world that true knowledge of God, infinite good, which alone can meet humanity's need, still its strife, end its fears, heal its diseases, and bring the kingdom of heaven to earth.
When this sublime truth came to our Leader and lifted her from disease to health, from death to life, she recognized the priceless gift that had come to her. After proving the rightness of her discovery in many, many cases of healing, she gave her discovery to the world in her great textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." She also devised ways and means to protect her discovery and make it available to mankind in its purity and correctness. This holy ministry is carried on through the agencies of The Mother Church, which divine wisdom led our Leader to establish. This church was ever near to her heart. She worked for it, sacrificed for it and gave to it her full measure of devotion. The opportunity is ours to carry on lovingly and humbly the great work which she established under God's direction and to whom she ever looked for guidance. He too will guide us aright and lead us onward as we follow faithfully the path which our Leader has pointed out. This path is always the path of love, the way of kindness, consecrated endeavor, true humility, and spotless purity. Thus journeying on, our holy aims will be blessed of the Father and our greatest joy will be
"To point that living way, to speak
The truth that makes men free,
To bring that quickening life from heaven,
(In) highest ministry."
(Hymn 131, Christian
Science Hymnal).
[Delivered Oct. 19, 1938, at the Southtown
Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, under the auspices of Fourth Church of Christ,
Scientist, Chicago, and published in The Chicago Leader of Chicago, Oct. 28,
1938. Breaks have been added to a few very long paragraphs for this
transcript.]