| Home | Listen to this article | Return to Articles |
 previous
/ next article |
Purpose of the HeartMary Baker Eddy writes in Science and Health, "We should examine ourselves and learn what is the affection and purpose of the heart, for in this way only can we learn what we honestly are" (SH 8:28-30). Why does the heart need to be examined with such scrutiny? To material sense, the pumping of blood through the heart is absolutely essential for life. We also recognize that fears, stress, passion, exercise, rest, and disease, all have a direct and dramatic effect on that muscle; and the human mind believes that any abuse of one's heart can cause it to falter or fail. We ask, "Do these conditions have anything whatsoever to do with Mrs. Eddy's instruction that we examine the affection and purpose of the heart? No! She is requiring an examination of the sanctity of our thoughts and motives. A physical sense of heart and personal attachment to its beliefs must be abandoned to make room for what Jesus refers to as the "pure in heart." Debased animalistic tendencies such as "evil beliefs, passions and appetites, fear, depraved will, self-justification, pride, envy, deceit, hatred, revenge, sin, sickness, disease, death" label man and his heart as sensual, vulnerable, and temporary (SH. 115:21). Referring to this mental state, Mrs. Eddy defines heart as "mortal feelings, motives, affections, joys, and sorrows" (SH 587:23). If there were no spiritual definition of heart, man would be in a desperate state with no hope of enduring happiness or peace. The human intellect must dissolve into intelligent knowing. Jesus declared that all beliefs regarding a so-called corruptible man must be erased and his heart scrutinized for purity; "I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works" (Rev. 2:20, 23). We must discover how it is that all our physical and mental notions of heart are wrong. Heart must be spiritually discerned and its holy purpose manifest. Growing in grace requires constant vigilance and a willingness to leave the old tainted habits of belief behind. "Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea. Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear, -- this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony" (SH 323:32). In the chapter titled "Prayer", Mrs. Eddy outlines several features of this transition to holiness including the following: willingness to accept merited rebuke; loving your neighbor better; showing evidence of your sincerity by living consistently with your prayer; kindness; blessing those who curse you; stalwart perseverance under pressure of persecution; loving with all your heart, soul, and mind; surrendering all material sensation, affection, and worship; recognizing only the divine control of Spirit; leaving all for Christ; desiring to do right; and being a living prayer. She encourages us with this, "A little more grace, a motive made pure, a few truths tenderly told, a heart softened, a character subdued, a life consecrated, would restore the right action of the mental mechanism, and make manifest the movement of body and soul in accord with God" (Mis. 354:15). "Christians are commanded to grow in grace". (Un.14:12). If belief in death causes heart failure, then removing that belief demonstrates heart success, and the mental mechanism is restored to its proper functioning. In this simple way, Christianity is practiced, and heart is proven to be Spirit, not matter. "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (Mat 5:8). The term "blessed" means joyous energy and divine movement. "Are" is the state of being, meaning "I Am." "Pure" is the quality of man's virgin goodness as God's reflection. "Heart" is Love's perpetual motion encircling and embracing its infinite idea. "Pure in heart" indicates complete sanctity of thought and desire; it is the key that opens Scripture, the essential quality and condition that leads to Science, the full recognition of Soul. It takes a heart of Love to understand reality -- to be all that is real, to be man made as image and likeness. Hymn 430 in the Christian Science Hymnal suggests, in metaphor, that a grateful heart is an blooming garden with no weeds, a fortress with no boundaries, and a permanent temple with no going out. We must know who we honesty are in order to see God face to face. "None but the pure in heart shall see God, -- shall be able to discern fully and demonstrate fairly the divine Principle of Christian Science" (Mis. 185:2-4). The affection and purpose of the heart, then, is wholly spiritual; it is the palpitating presence, the perpetual energy, the aliveness of Love. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind"
(Matthew 22:37). George Denninger © |
| Home | Listen to this article | Return to Articles |
previous
/ next article |