The Sword of Spirit

I remember the first time I read the article from Miscellaneous Writings by Mrs. Eddy, “Put up Thy Sword.” I had been raised in Science most of my life, but I had never read Prose Works and never read that article. I remember being dumbfounded; I couldn’t believe it. I thought I was supposed to be peaceful all the time. As a child my favorite beatitude was “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matt. 5:9) So I always worked at trying to be very peaceful. As some people say, how did that work for you? Well, it didn’t work for me. I wasn’t being honest in addressing any situation. I would often stifle what I felt and what I thought.

When I read this I realized that yes, as Christian Scientists we do have to carry a sword, the sword of Spirit, the sword of Truth; and as this article explains, it’s the sword that cuts off the head of false beliefs. The false beliefs are things we think to be true; but because they are not of God, they are not true! Of course, we have to carry this sword.

I love it where Mrs. Eddy says, “My students are at the beginning of their demonstration; they have a long warfare with error in themselves and in others to finish, and they must at this stage use the sword of Spirit. They cannot in the beginning take the attitude, nor adopt the words, that Jesus used at the end of his demonstration.” (Mis. page 215)

Once learning that lesson, I began to realize that peace is earned, and it’s earned by raising that sword and sometimes maybe raising a little ruckus, doing whatever we need to do to correct the situation with the truth. But it is always done with the motive of love, to bless and to heal. With that motive it does bless and heal, and the situation changes, and true healing takes place. Also, true peace takes place, the real peace, “the peace that passeth all understanding.” (Phil. 4:7) That peace is an amazing, wonderful part of Christian Science that we all can experience.