RESPONSIVE READING: Luke 11
9. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
This verse has had me thinking all week of what God promises us in return for our obedience, which in short feels like a good explanation of unfoldment, and our place within it. Then I thought about what the counterfeit to that process is, and all that mortal mind has awaiting us as a “reward” for disobeying Him.
God: Ask, and it shall be given you;
Mortal mind: Accept my suggestions, and I will take freedom, purpose, and dominion from you. You will be lost, miserable, and a victim, but at least you won’t have the possible social embarrassment of publicly acknowledging God, good. Don’t worry about thanking me, there is no one to thank!
God: seek, and ye shall find;
Mortal mind: Visualize, and wait for the universe to give you all you deserve. Or, create schemes to take what you want. It doesn’t matter, because once you’ve accepted my suggestions, once you are within my system of lies, you can’t ever find what you are truly looking for.
God: knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Mortal mind: After a while you will choose to close yourself off, so nothing will ever hurt you. That is okay, because we have a wide variety of things to numb you to this existence, like alcohol, drugs, exercise, and entertainment. Oh, and here is some religion that almost feels like truth but we have hobbled it enough that it will do you no lasting good. You are always free to take the easy way out – it’ll bring you to a better place!
Luke 11: 9 felt rather open-ended before I came to Christian Science, as though I could ask for anything. Now, with what I am learning at this church, I am seeing more of why Mrs. Eddy wrote on page 492 of Science and Health, “For right reasoning there should be but one fact before the thought, namely, spiritual existence.” Studying Christian Science seems, in part, to be the process of learning how to not ask wrongly-reasoned questions of God, how to not seek amiss, and, how to only knock on doors that promise good, and keep the rest closed tight. Basically, how to live successfully in God’s reality.
I am very grateful for all this church does to teach these valuable lessons that help me differentiate between Truth and mortal mind’s lies. I couldn’t see any of it without Mary Baker Eddy’s revelation! Thank you!