Truth Is Never Lost
We live in what has been called the Information Age. Up to the 15th century, information was generally available only to the rich and literate. This barrier began to break with the printing of the Gutenberg Bible. Since then telegraphy, radio, television, and computers have greatly increased people's access to information.
This dissemination of information to anyone wishing it has the potential of being a real blessing. But with all the vastness of information, difficulty arises as to assessing what is true and trustworthy.
A recent exhibition in a Boston museum presented working models of some of the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci, which he sketched in notebooks in the late 1400s. These notebooks were discovered earlier this century. Perhaps the most interesting thing about them is that they discuss the basic principles of many so-called modern inventions that were developed in the 400 years during which these notebooks were presumably lost.
This is evidence of an ever-present mental force, a supreme intelligence. As stated in the textbook of Christian Science by Mary Baker Eddy: "Mortals must look beyond fading, finite forms, if they would gain the true sense of things. Where shall the gaze rest but in the unsearchable realm of Mind?" ("Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures," Pg. 264). Mind is a synonym for God. Here, then, is where we look for true knowledge, knowledge that will help us judge rightly any information we receive. We look for it in God.
Prayer guides us in this search. It is a quiet communion with God, involving the humble acknowledgment that He is All and that we are eternally related to Him. Hebrews says, "He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (11:6). This truth of God controls every facet of our being; in fact, it is the very fiber of our being.
Christ Jesus promised that if we continued in the obedience to and study of his words, we would know the liberating truth of existence (see John 8:32). This truth, described by Mrs. Eddy as "the centre of all religion" (Science and Health, Pg. 20), is scientific; she named its full message Christian Science. Basic to its teachings is the fact that "God is everywhere, and nothing apart from Him is present or has power" (ibid., Pg. 473).
Knowing the truth of any circumstance involves acknowledging God as the only cause. God made each of us good. "Everything good or worthy, God made. Whatever is valueless or baneful, He did not make, - hence its unreality" (ibid., Pg. 525). We can ask ourselves if what we see indicates the nature of God. If so, then it's really true. If not, then it involves a false belief. Knowing this, we naturally turn to God - pray - with the expectation of a right, truthful answer to any problem or need.
One evening after a worker had left my home, I noticed that my wristwatch was missing from the windowsill where I had left it. I was particularly fond of the watch, as it had been a gift. However, I was more concerned with the loss of faith in that person that I felt. I had always had a very warm sense of freedom about leaving her in charge of my young daughter. As I cried out, mentally, "Oh, no, I don't want to believe that about her," immediately the thought came to me, "You can't know anything about her except the truth of her being as the image of God." This truth had never been lost. I calmed down; and I dismissed the matter from my thought, saying nothing about the incident.
The next week, after she left, I found the watch back on the windowsill. While I was very happy to have it back, what really gave me joy was that once again prayer to see the unchanging truth had solved a problem for me.
Listening to God and obeying His commandments, we are guided not just to the solution of our daily problems but to the attainment of spiritual understanding. We witness our full perfection as the man and woman made in His likeness. And, by seeking God's guidance, we can know the truth we need to know regarding any information that reaches us.
You can find in-depth articles on Christian Science in a monthly magazine, The Christian Science Journal.
