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HEAVEN

BY

LILLIAN DEWATERS

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the

things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 1 Cor. 2:9

“When God is seen with men to dwell,

And all creation makes anew,

What tongue can half the wonders tell?

What eye the dazzling glories view?”

LOVINGLY DEDICATED

TO THE HOSTS OF READERS

NEAR AND FAR

WHO HAVE BEEN HELPED ON THEIR WAY

BY

THINKING HEAVENWARD

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From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of

heaven is at hand. — MATT. 4:17.

Jesus did no works of healing prior to his forty days‟ fast in the wilderness.

From that time he began to preach and teach publicly, making known to the

people that the revelation of eternal life would now be declared to them. He

must have meant: “Repent ye! Forsake ye the old way of thinking and living;

give up your present erroneous ideas of life; for I am here to instruct you and

to teach you the truth about heaven.”

The Master taught that it is necessary for us to put on the seamless robe, — the

consciousness that believes in good only, and recognizes God as the only

power; in proportion as we do this, will all evil become unnatural and unreal to

us; suffering and limitation will cease; and we will enter heaven, which is the

abode of love, peace, and harmony.

Try it for yourself. The only proof that a theory is correct is the result

obtained.

Refuse to believe in the reality of all material phenomena, clinging to the

reality and presence of one Mind, good. This is the way to demonstrate in a

practical manner the presence of heaven.

The greatest good that we can do for anyone is to help destroy for him his

belief in the reality of matter. “Lo, I [the spiritual reality] am with you alway.”

The underlying hypothesis of all the teachings of Jesus is the unreality of

matter. The dynamic force of every single miracle is the unreality of matter.

Nothing but good, the real, possesses duration.

The only absolute phenomena, the only realities of heaven are divine Mind and

its ideas.

Heaven, the perfection of being, can only be entered, entertained, in proportion

as consciousness through the understanding of spiritual realities, separates

itself from every thought which is unlike Go(o)d.

Each must deal directly with the Father. To each may be given “the hidden

manna,” the “new name written;” but you must “work out [with God] your

own salvation.”

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No one can properly force open a rosebud; nor will it give forth wondrous

bloom without the necessary nourishment. Unfoldment of God comes to each

individual gradually, as he is ready for it, — as he reaches out for it and

welcomes it. If you are half-hearted, half awake, you will not accomplish

much.

Stir up the gift of God, which is in you. — II TIMOTHY.

Let every man prove his own work. — GALATIANS.

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Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. — MATT.

5:3.

Those who are humble in thought find easy access into heaven. “By humility

are riches and life.” — PROVERBS.

Heaven, the spiritual kingdom, is a perfection of being to be lived. It is the

world of reality where there is nothing but God and His manifestation.

Suppose this truth about God and heaven is explained to two individuals, both

of whom are in quest of health. The first questions: “How long will it take me

to be healed of my sickness and to understand God aright?”

“The demands of Spirit are that you give up your present erroneous ways of

thinking and living. It may take a day, a week, a month, or even longer for you

to manifest the health which is of heaven; but what if it does? Have you not

been sick in mind and body for months and years? It generally takes time to

gain a working knowledge of music, of art, etc.; and, similarly, it takes time to

gain an understanding of the Science of Life. No human can tell you at just

what moment your sickness will disappear. When you become conscious that

life and intelligence are purely spiritual, your body will then utter no

complaints.”

The individual, disappointed that anything is required of him, goes haughtily

on his way, and carries his sickness with him.

The second, bowed with the weight of trouble and disease, yet, with hungry,

earnest expression, queries: “How long will it take me to regain health; to run

and leap; to be free again?” Upon hearing the demands of Spirit, he exclaims,

with a glad smile, “I am willing to try, — and to wait.” Whereupon, he finds

that he is instantaneously healed of his physical trouble; or else, within a very

short time he is free. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of

God: for they are foolishness to him.” — I. COR. We must become as little

children in order to grasp spiritual understanding, — in order to understand

God and heaven. God is the sum total of all good. The Bible declares Him as

Life, Truth, Love. God is also ever-present Principle, which destroys the evil

when man stops thinking wrongly and thinks rightly. God is always with us,

and when we cease to think evil the good becomes manifest.

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Intellect argues; but the simple, child mind drinks unquestioningly of the deep

things of God. The human thought longs to know God; but how does it seek?

The most popular method has been the beseeching method. Do we have to

beseech the sun to shine? No. It always radiates light. We do not have to beg

and implore God for blessings, any more than we have to implore the sun for

light. No matter what we humans do God never changes.

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Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise

ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. — MATT. 6: 1.

We should be careful not to put forward our thoughts or deeds for the purpose

of attracting attention. Let us be inspired only by the glad, earnest promptings

of a grateful heart. “Cast away personality, sacrifice it, for what is left is the

essence of life — Love.” — TOLSTOY.

The cold, calculating thought which measures and outlines what it should

receive because of what it has given, does not understand aright the law of

giving and receiving. We should give and do right because we love God; not

because we want something in return. Love is the divine way to heaven.

“With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” —

MATTHEW. We mete what we are, — our own character is measured back to

us; in exactly the degree that consciousness comprehends divine Love and

expresses it, will one experience Love returning to him. We possess only what

we give. We receive from Love just what we give out of love. Emerson said:

“That only which we have within can we see without.” Therefore it is not

necessary nor essential that we seek a prominent locality to shine out our

works of faith. The place to begin our sunshine is in the home. Let us seek

reformation and regeneration there.

We may consider ourselves fettered by our environment, and be inclined to

blame certain existing circumstances for our inharmonious condition.

Environment is our opportunity to become strong and to overcome limitation.

Whatever place we occupy, that is the place for us to be. In that place we have

lessons to learn; weaknesses to overcome; ideals to work out.

An individual cannot demonstrate more than he understands of Principle. In

proportion as he honestly, earnestly and industriously applies what he already

knows, will his understanding be increased. Newness of life and regeneration

flows in us, in proportion as it flows from us. Understanding and its use are

metaphysically equivalent. What we receive from the Father we must give out

to the world, keeping a perfect equilibrium between the inflowing and the

outflowing, the receiving and the giving.

A pool cannot be kept sweet and clean unless there is an outlet as well as an

inlet. It is our business to keep the outlet open. Unless we are using for the

service of others what God has already given us, or what has already been

unfolded within us, we will find it a long, dreary road to spiritual

understanding. Some one has said: “We should never think, say, nor do

anything except with the object of helping another or becoming ourselves

better men.”

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Our progress depends upon the number of hours out of the twenty-four that we

think rightly. Every man is responsible for his own living. He makes it by his

thought. Every time we reverse a wrong thought it becomes easier for us.

Shakespeare said: “And many strokes, though with a little axe, Hew down and

fell the hardest-timbered oak.”

No thought is ever lost, the dye of it stains the universe.

“A thought is like the smallest seed;

When given a place to grow,

It bursts into a living thing,

Like unto that we sow.

“Whate‟er you do, watch how you think;

Make no mistake in this;

Whate‟er you sow‟, will surely grow,

And yield you woe or bliss.”

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Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, —but lay up for yourselves

treasures in heaven. —MATT. 6:19, 2O.

Right ideas are “treasures in heaven,” worldly beliefs are “treasures upon

earth.”

Poor people are those who are not conscious of the ideas of divine Mind, and

of their relation to them. One may have accumulated a fortune of dollars, acres

of land, mines of gold; yet, if he has not secured these things from the one

Father, the only resource, he has not even touched the hem of the garment of

true riches. The lily in the field does not strive for anything. It is content to

feel the warmth of the sun; the thrill of the rain; the touch of the wind; and

unfold daily in its simple, fragrant beauty. Oh, if we could only know and

content ourselves to rejoice that divine Love and the realities of heaven are all-

sufficient for us!

The light of a new day is dawning upon us. The day of ridiculing mental

healing has passed. The world is waking to the knowledge that the miracles of

Jesus are based upon universal, spiritual law, — present now as much as then.

To-day there are millions of spiritual, mental workers throughout the world

bringing good, health, joy, and prosperity into their own lives and into the lives

of others, by applying the words of the Master: “And ye shall know the truth

[the facts of Life], and the truth shall make you free [and your knowledge of

Truth shall free you from all seeming power of evil].” It is the Truth, and our

consciousness of oneness with it, which purifies, transforms, and redeems us.

If our desires have God in them they must be fulfilled; for this is the secret

spring which yields us prosperity and success. External wealth comes from

righteousness (right-use-ness) or the use of right ideas. Outer symbols follow

naturally the consciousness of inner wealth.

As he [man] thinketh in his heart so is he.

— PROVERBS.

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Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of

heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. —MATT.

7:21.

By no means are all who profess to worship God His true disciples; nor by any

means are all these worshipping ones entering heaven. Only those who are

demonstrating their understanding of Life by their healing works, — by

removing sickness, sin, and limitations by the Christ-method, — are entering

heaven. Eternal life must be earned; and there is a price to pay for it.

Opportunity is now; but our use of opportunity determines our rate of progress.

Let us be about our Father‟s business now; “the night cometh, when no man

can work.” This means that we may let opportunity slip by too often; and,

when we would behold Truth, because of our continued stay in darkness,

Truth, the light, may seem afar off to us.

When is the best time for us to learn the truth about ourselves? About God?

About heaven? Now. What is spiritual understanding? It is the revelation of

Truth to the individual consciousness. We each have to seek within our own

consciousness this revelation of the living Christ. Realization cannot be given

us by any human being; nor can it be bought with any coin. Each of us must

“seek and find” the way to eternal life. We prove our knowledge of God, our

understanding of Life by our works. There is no other method of

determination. Jesus‟ endowment was from “on high.” It is from this same

altitude that the Christ-mind will come to us.

Ultimate salvation from all sin is inevitable. St. Paul says: “Every knee shall

bow to me [be humbled], and every tongue shall confess [acknowledge] to

God.” — ROMANS.

“With all thy getting get understanding.” All that there is to be learned is

within the reach of man. To be open and receptive to new and true ideas is the

attitude of mind necessary, if we desire to grow in understanding and

knowledge. Begin simply. What you do not understand to-day may be clear to

you to-morrow. “Within is the foundation of good and it will ever bubble up if

thou wilt ever dig.” — MARCUS AURELIUS.

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Take thought about your thought. Every thought has an effect. Just consider

how true it is that the greatest miseries of the world come through wrong

thinking. When right thinking commences, righteousness begins. We must

not attempt to put new wine into old bottles. Many try to do this. It is one

thing to get hold of a new idea; it is quite another thing to let go an old idea.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear [open] ... I will come

in.” — REVELATION.

God knocks on the door. Man must open it, — he must open up his

consciousness, — be quickened, in order to receive and retain good. “It is the

spirit that quickeneth; ... the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they

are life.” —JOHN.

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And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching ... and preaching the

gospel of the kingdom [of heaven], and healing every sickness and every

disease among the people. — MATT. 9:

The great Teacher united preaching and healing, and this is what we should do.

It is he who teaches by healing and heals by teaching that shall wear the crown.

Religion is the endeavour to understand and practise the law of God. The real

test of religion is: Are its doctrines demonstrable? There is not a passage in

the Bible which warrants the once popular belief that sickness and death are

the will of God. Just supposing it were true that God sent sickness to certain

individuals. Now, when the physician with his medicine kit arrives at the

bedside of the patient, isn‟t he a sinner, — an accomplice with the sick man,

daring to defy God? If the sick one thinks God sent him the sickness, how

dare he even attempt to get rid of it, and still affirm his allegiance to God?

Doctors and nurses also would be defying God every hour of the day, even

daring to keep good individuals out of heaven.

And the hospital! Would it not be the „home of a defiant, rebellious people,

working in opposition to the will and law of almighty God? “Awake thou that

sleepest.” Let the Christ Truth give thee light (understanding).

Evil, with its false accompaniments of matter, sin, sickness, and death, is but a

false belief, unsustained by God. Physical deformities are not man, nor any

part of man. The mortal body is but the visible expression of mortal mind. As

we remove error from thought it ceases to appear in effect.

God is Truth. To believe evil is true is to break the commandment to have

only one God. What is untrue must be unreal; for only that which is eternal is

true and real. Sin, sickness, and death are not eternal; they come not from God

and cannot be true. God made good only. All that is opposed to good is

uncreated, unfounded, hence with no true or lasting existence and subject to

destruction. Jesus destroyed sickness, sin, and even death. His thought was

free from the belief in the power and reality of matter.

We have been deceived into believing that we are material beings in a material

world and that we are subject to sickness and death. There is no truth in such a

theory. In truth man is now spiritual and perfect in the kingdom of heaven.

But we see the perfect creation, heaven, all wrongly because of our wrong

concept. We see “through a glass, darkly.” We see heaven through a “mist,”

— the material senses which cannot cognize God.

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Even, at present, we can discern some of heaven; for all the love, the peace, the

harmony, the good, the pure, we see around us, is of God, and must belong to

heaven.

In other words, the kingdom of heaven is yours just to the extent that you get

into it. How far are you in?

The baptism of John symbolized the cleansing and purifying of the mind of all

wrong thoughts and beliefs. Jesus submitted to this baptism. It is necessary

that we also let all fear, worry, prejudice, narrowness, be washed away in the

cleansing water of denial; and let the inner kingdom be entered by affirmation

of its reality.

Every one must learn and practise the methods of Christ Jesus. Why not now?

Nothing is conquered until self is overcome. “Repent ye therefore, and turn

again, that your sins may be blotted out.” —ACTS (R. V.).

Who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? - GAL.

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As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. — MATT. 10:7.

Jesus recognized that heaven is within reach of all; nay, even here for us to

behold. Many a one has pictured heaven as the dwelling-place of God and His

angels; and presumed it was beyond the clouds, where the white throne is,

upon which rests the book of life. Hymns tell us that loved ones shall meet

“beyond the river,” where harps are played, and where the streets dazzle with

gold. Had Jesus believed that heaven is in the skies he would have located it

there.

What is simpler and clearer than the truth that heaven is where God is? Can

we think of God and heaven separated? Obviously, no. Therefore, since God

is everywhere, it necessarily follows that heaven is everywhere. Simply

because one has not experienced heaven does not deny the fact that heaven is a

present reality.

Suppose one found himself out in the ocean, dying of thirst. Although water

surrounded him, believing it to be salt, he did not partake of it. But he hears a

cry from a distance, “Dip down and drink, — you are in fresh water!”

Immediately he drinks and lives. Now, what has changed the man from a

dying to a living condition? Merely his thought. His wrong belief yielded to

the voice of truth. It is just like this in regard to heaven and the material world.

People believe the world is material — and so starve, thirst, suffer, die. Now

what is the truth? God and heaven are right here but are hidden to the material

senses. This kingdom for which all mankind is looking, is the world of reality,

waiting for man‟s recognition and acceptance. It is heaven that we see in

proportion as “old things” (thoughts) have passed away.

The material man is but a false sense of the real and spiritual man. It is only

this false view which needs correction and destruction. Jesus tells us in John

8: - that the natural man is not the true man.

Through daily study of the Bible and spiritual literature, we can dwell mentally

in heaven, though we walk on earth, until this earthy thought-world fades from

our consciousness, like a dream, and we “know even as also” we are “known.”

Whosoever ... shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my

Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will

I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. — MATT. 10: 32, 33.

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We should always be ready to voice the truth; gratefully acknowledge good

whenever and wherever the opportunity is afforded us. We best confess our

understanding of Life, by sin forsaken; by sickness destroyed; by limitations

removed. When we are showing to the world that our hearts are humble,

grateful, tolerant; that our desires are pure, holy, and unselfish; and, that

through spiritual realization we preach the gospel, heal the sick, — then are we

confessing God before men.

God confesses us whenever we confess God. When we realize that our present

sickness is not of God, that it has no place in us and we have no place in it,

then does God confess Himself to us, — then will perfect health be revealed to

us, in manifested wholeness of body.

The doctors‟ theories change; but God never. Every year new diseases are

invented. Some rush to get them as they would to secure the latest style of

gown. The human mind is always changing, that is why there are so many

fresh causes and cures for diseases. Heaven, — the truth, — remains, and

there is no disease in God. People should not study disease in order to cure it;

but they should study health. Can anyone learn of mathematics by studying

mistakes? Can anyone learn music by studying discords? No. Therefore, to

learn of health we must study God.

People run hither and thither seeking satisfaction in multitudinous ways, yet

without finding it. Why? Because they are denying God before men. Because

of their restless, unsatisfied minds, they seek places of gaiety and amusement,

and with what result? They starve their souls, — and they become nervous,

irritable, anaemic, and diseased. God, good, has been denied such an one

according to divine law. In order to have true life, with its fullness of joy, we

must feed the thought with Truth — the bread of Life. Then will the love of

God satisfy you. “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for

the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” — ROMANS.

In the degree that we understand and demonstrate the truth of God, we are in

heaven. When we deny God we are in hell. We make our own heaven and our

own hell after the fashion of our thoughts. The time is fully ripe for us to wake

up and get out of wrong thinking (hell) into heaven, the consciousness of right

ideas. This world of perfection is here now, if we would but see it.

“At last the veil is lifted;

I open my eyes and lo!

I stand in the midst of heaven,

With its beauties all aglow.”

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To be sure, there are those who will scoff at the idea that heaven is here! They

can only associate heaven as “up yonder,” a place of “many mansions.” “How

ridiculous that heaven is here!” Do you remember that centuries ago people

exclaimed, “How ridiculous that the earth is round”? Yet, it was scientifically

proven that the earth never was flat, it always was and is round. What became

of the “flat earth”? It went out of the people‟s minds, the only place it ever

existed. Now, as the flat earth was only a lie about the round earth, so it is true

that this material world is but a lie or mistaken sense of the real world, heaven.

“Men changed the truth of God into a lie.” — ROMANS.

God is one God and present everywhere. More and more will we become

conscious that heaven is among us. Even now, those of us, who look for it,

will catch a glimpse of it.

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first

earth were passed away; ... and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,

nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.” — REV.

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Verily I say to you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a

greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of

heaven is greater than he. — MATT. 2:11.

John the Baptist was a great messenger; yet he was without works. He had not

the right understanding of God; and he who comprehends and demonstrates the

realities of heaven is far greater than he who has “faith without works.”

The knowledge Jesus possessed of this faith was such that he was able to heal

every form of disease and overcome every limitation; and he said: “The works

that I do shall he do also.” He called twelve disciples and gave them authority

over “unclean spirits ... and to heal all manner of sickness.” The metaphysical

interpretation of some of the names of these disciples are: Simon, faith; James,

judgment; Andrew, strength; Philip, power; John, love; Bartholomew,

conception; James (son of Alphaeus), order; Simon (the Canaanite), zeal;

Matthew, receptiveness. When we call forth these qualities of consciousness

we must be lifted from all fetters.

We should not use prayer or treatment simply and entirely to restore physical

harmony. True, physical and moral reformation are inseparable. Watch for

moral improvement as well as physical relief. Why does it happen that an

individual may find that he is not getting rid of his sickness, under spiritual

treatment? Whenever a person is not healed after a long period of treatment let

him search in his own thought for the reason.

Jesus said: “I thank thee, O Father, because thou hast hid these things from the

wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes.” — MATT. The Master

recognized that it was the operation of wisdom that the understanding of the

Science of Life should unfold in the simple childlike thought. The “wise and

prudent” are they who spend no time contemplating the wealth of spiritual

ideas, but employ their minds in gaining the wisdom and education of material

ways and means.

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For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his

own soul? — MARK.

Let a great scholar or financier or lawyer lie at the point of death, will their

accumulated knowledge of mathematics, money, law, save them? No. These

are as so much “sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” God is all that can help

a man when he faces his enemy, death. Yet a healing word of truth felt and

uttered by some simple, unassuming mind could easily be the means of

prolonging the sufferer‟s life.

How true it is that a rich man cannot enter the kingdom of real living. Our

duty is to be rich in love. Love is. We learn addition by adding; art by

painting; Love by loving. Love cannot be bought by the purse, nor from the

without. Love is established within the consciousness of man.

Newness of life, regeneration, flows in us in proportion as it flows from us.

Should we love our father, brother, husband, less because we have started into

this new and profitable way of thinking? We have heard it remarked, “I have

known Christian Science to separate a family.” It is too sadly true that families

have been separated after a member has become a seeker in Christian Science.

But let it be remembered that it is a lack of Christian Science which has caused

the separation. It is foolish for one to expect that, because he has found the

truth and attends the Christian Science services, other members of his family

must fall in line. And he is sadly lacking in spiritual growth and

understanding, if he leaves his home because they will not think as he thinks.

Christian Science stands for better living. It makes us love more, not less; it

teaches us to be humble, patient, kind, charitable, self-sacrificing. If it is not

doing this in our lives then we are not Christian Scientists. It is well to

remember, along this line, Jesus‟ words: “And I, if I be lifted up ... will draw

all men to me.” The secret of drawing our loved ones into the fold of right

living with us, is for us to be lifted up in consciousness. As we show our love

and tender good-will toward them, in spite of their attitude toward us, this in

due time will prove the one available attraction.

Treatment is the realization of the spiritual facts concerning God and man. In

reality, in God‟s kingdom, heaven, there is no misunderstanding, no friction.

Every idea of God works in love and harmony-with another.

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Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my

brother, and sister, and mother. — MATT. I2:50.

Those of us who are loving and serving with the same right spirit the one Mind

are truly related in thought.

Now what is “the will of my Father”? Jesus is our perfect example. He did the

will of his Father; and, as we think the way Jesus thought, speak as he spoke,

heal as he heated, are we doing the will of the Father. Those of us who are

doing in some degree this will, are truly and eternally related.

The love for a stranger, who is following with us after the manner the Master

taught, is a purer and more perfect love, than the love for one called a sister or

brother, who lacks this one eternal bond of fellowship.

What did Jesus believe God‟s‟ will to be, regarding sickness and death? Did

Jesus think they were sent by God? No. Had he believed a man was better off

after he died he would not have resuscitated him. He worked to do away with

death. Without sin, sickness, and death, would not this be a very good

foundation for heaven right here?

Jesus denied the error and affirmed the truth. That is what we must do. Jesus

said of Lazarus, “He is not dead,” in spite of the fact that he had been in his

grave in the earth four days.

Denials and affirmations do not change God one iota; but they do put us into

harmony with God‟s law. Denials tear down and help destroy the hold evil

seems to have upon us. Affirmations are constructive and build up. Denials

purify and cleanse the mind from mistakes, worries, fears. Affirmations give

us courage, strength, power.

What things soever ye desire ... believe [affirm] that ye receive them, and ye

shall have them.—MARK.

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To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God [heaven]: but to

them that are without, all these things are done in parables. —MARK 4:11.

Jesus taught us the way to understand the mystery about heaven; but “to them

that are without,” — those whose minds are not centred in this scope of vision,

— all healings and prophecies are incomprehensible.

Love and life are intimately associated. Love is the essence of God. It is the

mother principle which purifies all who dwell within its presence. Even

human love, when given out of purity, will transform and purify a character. It

is because a mother renounces self for her child that her love is glorious and is

brought nearer the divine nature of Love.

Jesus taught the selfless way. He loved, seeking not his own, but another‟s

good. Jesus radiated happiness wherever he went; for he radiated love and

truth. He wept at the grave of his dear friend Lazarus.

Why? It was not because he was sorry that he had died. Jesus wept because of

the grossness of the minds about him. With all his heart, he yearned to have

them understand the truth about God. Faithfully, perseveringly, unselfishly, he

had laboured with them, and had healed and regenerated many; yet, now, when

he came in their midst, they held but one idea, — Lazarus is dead. Why did

they not reach out to him, even yet, for help? Why were they so slow to grasp

this truth, — that he who had done so many mighty works could, even now,

resuscitate Lazarus? It was because of their manifested lack of spirituality,

that tears sprung to the Master‟s eyes.

Who of us that has entered the path of divine understanding and seeth our

brother, our sister, our mother, standing without has not yearned for this dear

one to have the spiritual quickening? Yet we cannot do the work of another.

Jesus‟ aim was that each would “arise and go to my Father;” then will death

cease, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

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The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man which sowed good seed in his field

... But when the blade was sprung up, ... then appeared the tares also ... Didst

not thou sow good seed? ... from whence then hath it tares? — MATT. I3:24,

26, 27.

The human consciousness reasons thus: If heaven, good, is all, whence then

cometh evil? No matter how real pain, trouble, sin, may seem to us, it has

been demonstrated that they can be utterly wiped out of thought and body

through realization of the truth of Being. The belief of the flat earth existed

because of the ignorance of the round earth. The belief of disease, sin,

limitations, exists because mankind is ignorant of the spiritual, harmonious

man. As ignorance is put off and understanding unfolds in the human

consciousness, heaven becomes a living, present reality, real and tangible now.

There are those who listen to the great facts of Life, but they have “stony

ground,” and “not much earth.” These are a class of people who feel an

inclination to attend a metaphysical lecture or attend a church service or listen

to the healing experiences of others. They think the way looks attractive; but

they have no depth of earth, — not sufficient consciousness of good, to grasp

the ideas of Spirit. Of course, spiritual ideas cannot take root in minds full of

materialism. The laying of one or two bricks never made a mansion.

The Bible doesn‟t say, “With a very little bit of endeavour you will find Me.”

But it does say, “And ye shall … find me, when ye shall search for me with all

your heart.” God is present help; but there must be a recognition of this fact, a

turning to God with all desire, earnestness, purpose, and love, before God‟s

presence will become manifested.

An individual may, with enthusiasm, delight in playing cards; in theatre-going;

in dinner parties; in reading a vast amount of unprofitable literature; in running

around briskly all day and accomplishing little worth while; then, when

Sunday arrives, he may seat himself in the first pew of one of the most

fashionable churches, and expect he is doing as much as is required of him.

Without a fitness for holiness, can one receive holiness? A great sacrifice of

material things must necessarily precede spiritual understanding. The question

is: How are we spending our thought — our time?

21

Jesus was always about his Father‟s business, — the business of loving,

serving, teaching good. So must we be if we would have God dwell within our

hearts. God must become to us the spring of all health, enjoyment, gladness,

abundance. It is possible for us to learn of this divine power, and for us to call

upon it to sustain, protect, and guide us into the realm of perfect and eternal

bliss and peace.

22

The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took,

and sowed in his field … when it is grown, it ... becometh a tree, so that the

birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.— MATT. 13: 31, 32.

The seed of the mustard is one of the smallest of seeds; yet, when the seed

attains full growth, it has become the greatest of herb trees. There are many

who eschew Christian Science, and believe it to be without value, — the least

of all the sciences. Yet, let a mortal grasp even a grain of the spiritual

understanding of Life, as taught by Christian Science; let him cultivate and

thereby multiply this seed, within his consciousness, and he will soon find that

he is being led by the right path into heaven.

Right thinking is the key which unlocks the door of heaven; and one enters this

realm of glory in proportion as his thoughts objectify themselves in freedom

from fear, sin, sickness, and limitations. While one is going through this

process of entering heaven, and good is gaining a permanent place in his

consciousness, “the birds of the air” flock to him. Humans, desirous of gaining

release from suffering, are attracted to him; and, inspired by his faith, they, too,

seek the one way of deliverance.

It is the blessed privilege of every one of us to receive revelation and

inspiration; for we know that the Father is impartial with His love and that

heaven is within reach of us all. Let us each - build on our own foundation,

subject to the one maker, God. Truth cannot be copyrighted. Heaven is free to

us all. Mrs. Eddy was an ardent apostle of liberty and equality and believed

that for divine Truth there is no ecclesiastical monopoly. God is not only

good, but infinite good; not confined to certain places nor to particular

individuals.

Man has omnipotent good as his Father; the vista of eternal life and abundance

of bliss reaches out before him. But we must let the love of God enter our

hearts. Nothing can grow and ripen into its fullness without attention and

cultivation. Merely planting a seed does not insure it fullness of growth. “The

seed is the Word of God” and in order to bring forth the harvest, — the perfect

man, — we must give this seed constant attention.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the

form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.” — PHIL.

23

The kingdom of heaven is like to treasure hid in a field; the which when a man

hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and

buyeth that field. — MATT. 13:44.

When we recognize what Truth requires of us, are we willing to sell all our

mortal belongings, — part with our erring thoughts, — in order to possess

Truth? If not, then are we ready to enter heaven? That is the price we all must

pay. We are called upon to give up a quick temper, jealousy, anger, self-

righteousness, if we would receive the blessings of heaven. We are called

upon to give up feelings of annoyance, haste, impatience, vexation, if we

would enjoy the wonders of calm, undisturbed mentality. To grow in thought

and demonstration we must also give up petty narrow-mindedness and put on a

broad and truly liberal and progressive view.

The only way to have and to hold health is to remove sin in thought and in

deed. A sinful man cannot enter heaven; nor should he, harbouring evil in his

thought or manifesting it in his actions within his home, or without, entertain

the notion that he can, by repetition of certain spiritual formulas, demonstrate a

healthy body. The body is but the objectification of the thought. It is wrong

thinking and acting which quicken or retard the normal action of certain organs

of the body. Thoughts are things. Therefore if you want good things you must

have good thoughts.

Do not expect miraculous healing without fulfilling the law of right thinking.

All permanent healing, all lasting reform, comes about through spiritualization

of thought and regenerated living. Now, God does not demand that we do all

this at once. Nothing in nature grows immediately from a seedling into its full

and mature being. All plants go through certain processes of growth. So with

man. A baby does not learn to walk firmly and unassisted all at once. He

generally learns by degrees and after much endeavour.

Spiritual revelation, inspiration, and growth are acquired according to

individual readiness and capacity. Only as the little understanding is practised

does it become larger understanding. Only as the first bit is used is room made

for more of it. All we have to do in order to have more is to use what we have.

We cannot use what we have without increasing it. It resembles the money we

put into the bank, which draws interest on just what it is, no more, no less. We

receive interest, growth, from our good thoughts and actions according to their

value. It, therefore, is not the amount of what we have, but the use of it, which

increases its value.

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Use what you have to-day and you will find that you will have more to-

morrow. Harvest is the result of your own sowing. How long would a master

of music be able to play with wonderful dexterity without daily practice? The

promise to do good to-morrow is no excuse for the performance of poor work

to-day.

25

Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into

the kingdom of heaven. — MATT. 18:3.

Until mortals become as yielding and as teachable as the child mind, they

cannot comprehend Life, — nor partake of heaven. How true it is that “the

first shall be last; and the last shall be first.” When we caught the first glimpse

of this wonderful truth about God, did we not immediately think of Mrs. So-

and-So? “She is such an earnest Bible student! Surely such an one would

gladly welcome this new way of right thinking!” And how surprised and

pained we were, when she looked askance at us, and thought we were absurd.

Why, she had been a student of the Bible for twenty years, and was perfectly

satisfied with her understanding of Life! Often those whom we judge of

spiritual advance, are the very last; and the simple unassuming ones, who we

judge would not be so receptive, are the first to welcome these glad tidings.

If we have not become converted, trans-formed or changed from wrong

thinking into right thinking; if we are not spiritually alive; if we have not the

Christ mind, we are not alive at all. Such is the teaching of the Scripture. In

order to be really alive, we must be purified and regenerated. We must

become perfect even as Jesus Christ. Each of us must face this proposition

some day for we can never get away from it. The more quickly we get rid of

the “carnal mind” the more quickly shall we get alive. “God is not the God of

the dead, but of the living.” God is always a loving Father, but only as man

becomes conscious of it through right thinking and understanding does he

enter into sonship.

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon

thee.” — ISAIAH.

“To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the

midst of the paradise of God.” — REVELATION.

26

The kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his

own servants, and delivered to them his goods, ... to every man according to

his several ability. — MATT. 25:14, 15.

He who understands what the law of life requires, yet hides his talent and

allows it not to benefit himself or his brother, that servant shall be cast into

darkness. Mental darkness and mental suffering overtake the one who yields

not his love and obedience to divine Principle.

Rise and place the candle where it belongs; not under a bushel, to be of no use,

but upon a candlestick, — in its proper place. Man‟s consciousness is like

water flowing through a land. If the mouth of the stream is dammed up, the

water settles back and becomes stagnant. No matter how much flood of clear

water is let in, you cannot purify the stream until the dam is opened and the

impurities are let out. So, no matter how much you read, ponder, study, —

until you let out the wrong thoughts and feelings, your consciousness cannot

become purified.

Giving up the wrong, letting in the good, is the one way to advance into the

radiance of heaven. Keep an outlet as well as an inlet to your thoughts; give

good as well as receive good; talk good as well as think good; feel good as

well as believe good.

There is no difference between the demand upon the beginner and the demand

upon the more experienced. Each must stand upon his own convictions. All

the teachings of Jesus were for the purpose of-I leading man to the

consciousness of his oneness with the Father. All real power is in God waiting

to be brought into visibility by our recognition of it and our use of it. Our joy,

our health and prosperity, — everything about us, is derived from the ideas we

hold in thought. Let us then give out this real substance of the heart as though

we were stewards of God handing out His inexhaustible supplies. We are all

equally entitled to good, heaven, for everything is God‟s and we are His

offspring, the sheep of His pasture.

27

If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the

kingdom of God [heaven] with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into

hell fire. — MARK 9:47.

Should we be in doubt whether or not we are sinning in a particular thought or

deed, let us pause and reason about it. Whenever there seems to be a dual of

us, one reasoning one way, the other of us in an opposite way, it is more than

likely we are harbouring wrong and serving evil. Doing good never troubles

us; never causes us worry or disturbance. When we are doing right we

generally know it; it is when we are not doing right that we begin to question

and argue with ourselves. This is a good sign that we are doing wrong; and if

we are doing wrong, or if any thought we possess off ends us, no matter how

cherishing the possession may be, let us pluck it out. It is better for us to have

one eye (thought) than to have two (a double thought).

When we have done the thing which Truth requires of us, who of us has not

felt the calm of sin forgiven?

It is only with the single eye that we see heaven. Were we in a great room

filled with all the luxuries of this mortal life, and yet, for some reason, did not

see and were not conscious of this abundance, of what use would it be to us?

None. Heaven with all its presence of joy, glory, wonder, harmonies, and

realities is right here; yet, because of the “mist” of matter, we have not beheld

it. But there are thousands upon thousands who have entered in some degree

into this millennium.

Man is not a separate being possessed of a life which begins, matures, dies,

and decays. Man‟s life does not flicker out like a candle. Jesus asked:

“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?” Nothing can

cut man off from his source of life — God; heaven or reality.

“When all shall know the truth of God,

When truth shall error leaven,

Then all upon this earthly clod

Shall find that here is heaven.”

28

“And there appeared an angel to him [Jesus] from heaven, strengthening him.”

— LUKE.

All of us who have by spiritual realization conquered sin, sickness, and

temptation have experienced the visit of an angel. For what is an angel? Is it

an apparition with wings humanly outlined? No. An angel is Truth‟s own

voice speaking in individual consciousness. When we have passed a night in

watching and praying, have we not been strengthened as was Jesus? There

comes a time in the experience of all of us when we are tested.

The author calls to mind one never-to-be-forgotten angel visitant. The life of

my babe was at a low ebb; and because of the law held over contagious

diseases, I was compelled to call in a physician for diagnosis. It was the

opinion of three physicians that the child was afflicted with an epidemic of

disease and must be taken at once to the hospital. Upon my urgent request

they granted me from four P.M. until eight A.M. for the healing to be

accomplished in Christian Science. Although the babe was being treated by a

capable Christian Science practitioner I felt that much depended upon myself

at this critical moment. Taking the Bible I entered “the closet,” and “shut the

door,” with but one idea, — to have it out with this belief of evil. And I did.

Toward the early hours of the morning, I began to gain a deep realization of

the presence of God; but the thought kept recurring to me: “How do you know

that you have done enough? How do you know that the babe is healed?”

I turned over in my mind the Bible passages where angels visited the patriarchs

and talked with them. “Oh, that I might hear the voice of an angel now!”

yearned my heart. Then, with sudden inspiration I seized the Bible and opened

it. My eyes rested upon words which seemed to blaze out separate from all the

rest: “And the Lord sent his angel, saying, I have heard thy prayer.” Could

ever an angel speak plainer than that to human consciousness? Instantly my

soul responded, “It is finished.” I was strengthened and at peace. Calling up

the practitioner I found that she, too, had realized the healing.

In the morning the doctors consented to allow the babe to remain in the home;

but under their constant watch. They also installed a trained nurse who

examined the child every four hours.

The healing took place rapidly and continuously. The temperature dropped

seven degrees, to normal. Within less than 48 hours the little one was

pronounced to be in an absolutely normal condition. And this was to their

great amazement.

29

“A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it

shall not come nigh thee.” — PSALMS.

30

A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. — MATT. 19:23.

If we depend upon material possessions or money for our happiness we are not

on the road to the right understanding of heaven. What does money claim to

do for us? Does it not say: I give you food; I give you shelter; I give you

raiment? Nay — even more than this — for it says: Without me you cannot

live. Surely if we believe that mere money is the support and maintenance of

our existence we are a long way from heaven. Every material object is a

symbol of reality. Therefore the dollar stands for something — there is a true

idea back of it. Money is that idea of God which furnishes all expressions of

substance — which supplies us in every way. He who unites his thought of

supply with the dollar can hardly enter heaven.

Jesus was the wisest man who ever walked among us; he also was the richest.

Whatever he desired came immediately into visibility. Jesus had no houses, no

lands. What he had was an abundance of inner riches. He proved for us that

outer wealth or material symbols follow naturally the consciousness of inner

riches.

What did Solomon desire above all things? Wisdom. He asked for the very

best gift and because he became rich in ideas he became possessor of great

material wealth.

“All things that the Father hath are mine.” Abundance is unlimited; it is as free

as the air. Jesus when he had only a very little bit with which to feed the

multitude gave thanks for it; and the little grew into an abundance. Let us bear

this in mind; for the attitude of thanksgiving is the foundation for all

demonstration.

Wealth of consciousness! That is the secret to wealth of manifestation. Have

you faith that this is true? “Faith is the substance of things hoped for.” It is

faith which takes hold of divine substance and brings it into visibility.

Do not limit your supply to certain individuals nor to specific channels; but

rather put yourself in touch with the one supreme and universal substance.

Whether one is prosperous or not depends altogether upon the ideas he is

holding in mind.

31

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. —

MATT. 5:48.

The metaphysical interpretations of the Bible contain many wonderful and

beautiful meanings hitherto unsuspected. For centuries the Bible was

interpreted in a biographical, exoteric, religious sense. Not until Mary Baker

Eddy discovered the key to the Scriptures, was it even suspected that the Bible

contains a perfect analysis of individual man — and that the Bible offers a

perfect plan whereby man may obey the command of the Master and become

perfect.

For too long, it has been believed that man will become perfect after he

reaches heaven; that it is sacrilegious to even intimate that one might become

perfect without dying. Now, with the light of Christian Science, we know that

death does not bring heaven to us, — nor does death take us to heaven.

Personal regeneration is necessary before we can gain even a glimpse of reality

— heaven. The Bible now becomes something vital, a bubbling spring of

eternal life and love. Historical and personal experiences as given in the Bible

show the stages of individual unfoldment.

When is the best time to begin to put on this perfection? Now. For the eternal

now is the only time. All that has ever been valuable, all that will ever be

worth while, is now. The establishment of perfection of true consciousness

rests, not upon the false sense of time, but upon the true sense of time. There

is a wrong sense of everything; there is a right sense of everything. The wrong

sense of time is minutes, hours, days, years. The right sense of time is the

unfolding of spiritual ideas. When we dwell in the wrong sense of time we

have destruction, — whitened hair, furrowed cheek, stooped shoulders, and,

finally, dead bodies. When we take hold of the true sense of time, we take on

construction, — we bring into our bodies a renewed sense of life, which

springs from thought within us. The lines of our faces are softened, our eyes

blaze with the fire of love burning within us; our bodies are strong and erect.

The establishment of the Christ mind within us does not rest upon time in its

wrong sense, but depends upon our realization and demonstration of the truth.

It is the undue attention to the morrow‟s cares which ofttimes robs to-day of its

great opportunities. Jesus said, “Take ... no thought for the morrow.” Surely

there must be enough in each day for us to keep us busy and employed! Let

to-day‟s unfoldment meet to-day‟s need; and give no attention to to-morrow,

until it becomes to-day.

32

Do we ever get rid of trouble by thinking and brooding over it? The best way

to kill trouble is to shut the door immediately upon such thoughts and flood the

mind with heaven — real thoughts. Some one has said: “Control your

thoughts and the secret of health, happiness, and success is in your grasp.”

The attitude of praise and thanksgiving is the foundation for all demonstration.

Next to the sunlight of heaven is a cheerful face and a radiant countenance. It

is the bright eye and unclouded face which tell that the thought within is glad

and happy. What a wonderful thing it is to realize that our Father is

omnipotent and omnipresent good! That He is God to us all; that He has

provided for us such an inexhaustible supply of abundance that it would be

impossible for any of us to lack; that His abundance is as free as the air. “All

things that the Father hath are mine.”

The Bible says:

“Now, is the day of salvation.” “Now, O Lord, thou art our Father.” “Return

ye now every one from his evil way [thought].”

Now is the time to learn the truth about heaven. Now is the time to understand

the Master‟s words, “Be ye perfect.”

It is very helpful to spiritual growth to meditate upon the vastness, greatness,

and grandeur of God‟s creation. Those of us who are acquainted with some

knowledge of heaven continually see more beauty in every living, growing

thing in the universe. For all nature teems with praise and gladness.

Through metaphysics we learn how to interpret reality. Everything in the

material universe hints the existence of spiritual reality. Nature is full of

beautiful ideas of God. The rose is an idea of love; the lily purity; the violet

modesty. The cedar represents strength; the oak hospitality; the olive peace;

and how wonderful the expressions of the birds which represent the aspiration

and melodies of the soul! The dove is an idea of peace; the bluebird cheer; the

sparrow impulse; the robin love. — We should think and talk good; think and

talk Life and dominion, until we see ourselves filled with the abundance of

heaven. This is the absolute way to priceless and eternal salvation, and

“Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” — REVELATION.

Several hundred verses in the Bible tell us to be glad; let the fruit of our lips be

continual praise for the unspeakable gifts of Life, Love, and all good, which

are truly ours; for all is here now for us to have and enjoy.

“In this world of beauty

Naught goes really wrong;

Every trial or sorrow,

33

Ends somewhere in song.

Once to feel earth‟s gladness

It is worth the strive;

Oh, the joy in God‟s world,

Just to be alive!”