In pointing the way to greater spiritual success, Mary Baker Eddy wrote,
“…the human self must be evangelized. This task God demands us to accept lovingly to-day, and to abandon so fast as practical the material, and to work out the spiritual which determines the outward and actual” Science and Health, p. 254.
To the aspiring Christian, the need to abandon the material as fast as practical is clear. Clinging to material goals and aspirations gets in the way of achieving spiritual success. One cannot have his attention absorbed into accumulating material wealth and have it concentrated on spiritual growth at the same time. One aspiration cancels out the other. The material has to be abandoned to make way for the spiritual.
But the words that arrest my attention in this sentence is her phrase, “…the spiritual… determines the outward and actual.” How cool!
It’s not the material that determines the outward and the actual. It’s Spirit.
How often are we taught the opposite, to believe that matter determines the outward and actual?
For instance, people diagnose the body to determine their state of health. They check their bank balance to determine how much supply they have at hand. The mortal mind is constantly consulting the material sense evidence to determine potential, opportunity and possibility. It looks for the “outward and actual,” in a place that is fraught with limits, lack and disappointment. But this is error. It’s a mistaken approach.
God is the source and cause of all good.
Health is a state of divine Mind, not a condition of matter. Supply pours forth abundantly from infinite Spirit that knows no end to provision and abundance.
Moses struck the rock and water gushed forth. Manna fell from the sky for the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes, all according to the laws of Spirit.
The laws of Spirit determine the outward and actual, not matter. Jesus was in tune with this reality and demonstrated it. Christian Science explains it. We all can prove it.
We live in a universe of divine Mind where things are thoughts and ideas are substance. The sooner we focus on God’s ideas, rather than on material things, the sooner we realize the presence of God’s good which can heal the body of sickness and cure the lie of lack. In degrees, we can demonstrate that Spirit determines the “outward and actual,” of our life.
There is no lack in Spirit.
Let the “outward and actual” of your life be Spirit, rather than matter. Seek out the riches of Spirit, dwell on the realities of Life in Spirit, and demonstrate the abounding provision of divine Love.
The only “outward and actual” that matters, is Spirit. And it’s yours to enjoy.
Thank you , Evan for this powerful and much needed message today. It’s a valuable reminder of putting God first in every part of our life.
Thanks Evan. This is where the rubber meets the road as we used to say in engineering. I’ve had a difficult time putting this concept into practice and getting to really understand and rely on Spirit and not my own will or material working out. Yet understanding this principle renders much more productive, loving outcomes and brings us closer to our true purpose and identity in Soul.
How intelligent and for sightedness was Mrs Eddy when she wrote the above statement that Evan’s blog is based on. Spirit only will bring success into our lives, not matter based thinking.
I finally got this when I realized that “Outside the material sense of things, all is harmony.” Outside the dream, the outer and actual is always harmony. Exchanging limited things for unlimited thoughts determines our sense of harmony. Thanks for this clear explanation Evan.
Wonderful ideas and insights, Evan! Any ideas on how we can perceive the Fires and Draught that are appearing evident and actual in the Great Northwest i.e. the states of Washington and Idaho….?? Thanks so much!
Good question about the fires in the Northwest. I’ve been praying to see the omnipresence of Love more tangibly that drenches and saturates the angry elements of the mortal mind that is manifested in these violent and angry outbreaks of fire. I can see that fire is not an evil. Fire has a right place to occupy, but it doesn’t have to be destructive. So it seems to me that the underlying evil is not fire, but the evil attitudes of mortal mind that abuse the fire and devastate our environment and homes.
I also pray that the waters of divine Love pour down the blessings of God and eliminate the belief of drought too. But there doesn’t have to be fire just because there is drought. There can be peace in all cases!
Very clearly expressed, Evan, thank you! I find that evangelizing the human self is based on the foundational teaching of Christ Jesus, found in the Sermon on the Mount, which includes the point, “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what he shall put on. Is not the life more than meat (food and drink), and the body than raiment (clothing and personal adornment in general)?” And the whole of chapter 6 in the gospel of Matthew is a great support in learning how to demonstrate the Scientific principles that Jesus lived. Far from councelling us to neglect ourselves, this profound teaching prompts us to shift our attention from matter to Spirit, as you imply. And this requires the faith which leads to spiritual understanding. Jesus often said, “Believe” to those he was about to heal, even in the face of apparent hopelessness. And this applies not only to the need for physical healing but to environmental threats too, like severe weather, or out of control fires. God, Spirit, is able to meet our need abundantly if we go to Him in humility. And the size and urgency of the need cannot begin to compare with infinity! Thank you for maintaining a website that offers such support for prayer.
Thanks so much, Evan, for just the message I needed to hear this morning!
Many thanks, Evan for today’s enlightening blog and the addendum on fire and drought. Your daily sharing of ideas is so appreciated and enlightening.
Abandoning the material and working out the spiritual is not restrictive, it is freeing one to express one’s true identity.
Thanks so much, Evan, for sharing on how you are praying about the Fires and Drought in the Northwest. This has been a wonderful directive for my own prayers…..as I speak I am hearing thunder and seeing some rain drops! Praise God!!
Hello dear Evan Thank you for this website which is giving us Spirit’s view of all things.
Thanks so much, Evan, and for the comments this post inspired. Coupled with yesterday’s post (I’m slightly behind), it has boosted my prayers against symptoms of illness I seem to have let into my thought the past two days.
I feel much better just after reading and thinking about these ideas! (plus the ideas from yesterday’s to “doubt mortal mind” –which always has an agenda). The physical symptoms have abated some, my mental state, a sense of Spirit, soars as I contemplate the “outward and actual” of my true being, shedding the material suggestion for that which is real, that which is discerned outside of matter, my “actual” composition of the reflection of light. How can that be ill, or even suggest it?
Can’t.
Thanks to Evan and all dear posters. Your sincerity and unselfishness is inspiring.
The outward and the actual via SpiritView – In pointing the way to greater spiritual success, Mary . Doubt mortal mind not divine Mind via SpiritView – Doubt can be healthy if it prevents us from .