Moving mountains
Who has let Christ develop his faith enough to move an alp? Yet didn't Christ Jesus say, "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove"?n1
n1 Matthew 17:20.
Well, maybe we should start with less formidable undertakings. There are Christians of many denominations who have practically applied this Biblical promise to other kinds of problems that rise mountainlike in an otherwise smooth and steady life. Take, for example, red tape.
Most of us have been confronted by mountains (or even mountain ranges) of red tape in government forms, business procedures, and so forth. The problem plagues many societies. But our Master lovingly assures us that faith can remove those mountains.
What is this faith? As Jesus used the word, it means much more than belief in a religious doctrine. It connotes an abiding, deep understanding and conviction of the truthfulness of God. It relies on the eternal Christ, Truth, for salvation. IT includes the pure spiritual understanding that God is infinite good and man is His perfect offspring. When one glimpses what our great Teacher had in mind with his use of this word, he can understand how even a bit of it would remove the mountains in our lives.
Several years ago I changed my office. There were delays, misunderstandings, and a lot of sticky red tape. I finally resorted to some harsh words that appeared to cut the tape and settle the matter, but they left a lot of people angry.
Recently I moved my office again and was amazed to see the same problem reappear. It became clear that the earlier trouble had not been truly healed, just willfully manipulated.
I then saw that when important work is needlessly delayed, firm faith, not harsh words, is called for -- the radical yet humble spiritual understanding that God, good, truly is all power; and that man is His precious idea, never outside His tender care and firm yet gentle government.
As I talked with one official, I tried my best to keep in thought these ideas about man's true nature. Suddenly a simple solution came up. It surprised him, but after a moment he said, "We'll do it Monday." And they did. So far as I know, everyone involved was pleased.
Mountainous problems of any kind are results of the mistaken belief that creation is matter-structured. The binding, confusing, or delaying of legitimate action results from thought that is tied up by these entangling, false beliefs. Faith frees us. It corrects the beliefs with powerful divine Truth. And whatever needs to be done is done. Referring to one of Jesus' healings, when he faced strong pharisaical opposition, Mary Baker Eddy n2 writes , ". . . neither red tape nor indignity hindered the divine process." n3
n2 Mrs. Eddy is the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science
n3 Unity of Good,m p.11.
Most human activities need more compassion, more selfless service, more individual helpfulness. This means that the people performing these services need more Christly love. If we are hard on others, or on ourselves, we may get results but we won't get healing. And isn't Christian salvation far more important? Only faith in the saving Christ can remove these mountainous beliefs. As we pray to God in deep and meek faith, joined with a spiritual understanding of ourselves as God's children, we will also be helping to heal the world. DAILY BIBLE VERSE The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast. . . . Their Redeemer is strong; . . . he shall throughly plead their cause. Jeremiah 50:33, 34
