Spiritual Exploration
FROM earliest times there has been a thirst for the new and undiscovered. Astronaut Michael Collins remarked: ``It's human nature to stretch, to go, to see, to understand. Exploration is not a choice, really, it's an imperative.''1 Very few will probably ever have the opportunity to travel to the moon, and yet we can all take the most rewarding journey of all. This is the spiritual exploration that reaches into the realm of infinite Spirit -- the present reality of God's kingdom on earth.
In the Bible we find stories of people who took such journeys in obedience to God's bidding. Abraham was certainly a spiritual explorer. The book of Hebrews records: ``By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.... For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.''
Those who are willing to obey God and follow Truth's leading in any age find themselves embarking on a spiritual quest in which the human heart reaches out for a larger sense of home. Obedience to divine law and faith in God's provision inspire many today to seek a stronger foundation on which to build their lives than material ambition and human prestige. It takes courage and vision to be a spiritual pioneer, to follow the road of spiritual intuition that signposts greater freedom for humanity.
Christ Jesus is our Way-shower on this road. He said, as John records, ``I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.'' Jesus is referring here to Christ, his spiritual selfhood, which reveals everyone's sonship with God. The Master is actually inviting mankind to take a spiritual journey that breaks through physical and mental limitations.
As we strive to follow the way Jesus has opened to us, we find the practicality of his teachings becoming more apparent. They bring physical healing to those who long for more freedom, and regeneration to those who are burdened with sin. We learn to recognize and accept the truth that the man of God's creating is wholly spiritual and always with Him.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Founder of Christian Science, was certainly a Christian pioneer. She discovered the Christ Science that Jesus practiced. Mrs. Eddy writes in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: ``A knowledge of the Science of being develops the latent abilities and possibilities of man. It extends the atmosphere of thought, giving mortals access to broader and higher realms. It raises the thinker into his native air of insight and perspicacity.''
The fundamental assurance of Christian Science that man is God's expression gains impetus in our lives as we break out of limited, material ways of thinking. This forward movement of thought brings the freedom to explore the truth that God is Spirit and that the man of His creating is wholly spiritual and good.
We each can play our part. Our individual effort, daily prayers, and Christly love will unfold infinite possibilities for service to others. As we go forward together, determined to serve God and make our world a better place for everyone, we can also be assured that the spiritual journey we are taking is sustained by Spirit. And we are rewarded by divine Love, fulfilling, embracing, and showing us more of God's infinite universe.
1Kevin W. Kelley, ed., The Home Planet (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1988), p. 134. This is a condensed version of an editorial that appeared in the July 23 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
