Constant pressure of the apostolic command

By Dee Mahuvawalla, CS

In the rat-race of the day to day living, mankind is constantly pressured by the cares of life. These pressures may appear to be financial, relationships, health, career, ageing, barrenness, lack, addiction, environmental or whatever. God is the GIVER of good, and has planted and created only good. Our God is a Deliverer, a Friend, a Restorer, a Rescuer.

Man is spiritual, and is therefore unpressured. He is not matter to be pressured by other illusive beliefs of matter. Man has dominion over any material beliefs that can suggest malfunction or dysfunction of his true substance.

Mary Baker Eddy writes in our textbook, “Christian Scientists must live under the constant pressure of the apostolic command to come out from the material world and be separate. They must renounce aggression, oppression and the pride of power. Christianity, with the crown of Love upon her brow, must be their queen of life.” [S&H 451:2]

The word  “pressure” means “to force, as by overpowering influence or persuasion; to pressurize; the act of pressing; the condition of being pressed; the application of continuous force by one body on another that it is touching; compression; atmospheric pressure; a compelling or constraining influence, such as a moral force, on the mind or will: pressure to conform; peer-group pressure; urgent claim or demand: under the pressure of business; an oppressive condition of physical, mental, social, or economic distress; a physical sensation produced by compression of a part of the body. [Word origin from Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pressūra, from pressus, past participle of premere, to press. [www.answers.com]

Man is not matter or material. He is a spiritual idea “without a single element of error.” [S&H 463:12]. Hence man is never under pressure, he can never be oppressed, suppressed or depressed. His health reflects wholeness, is sound and resilient. His bodily functions are unobtrusive and effortless. He lives and moves through Spirit, not muscles or other material elements. He is only “under the constant pressure of the apostolic command” to glorify God in his body

Man is a compound idea of all right ideas; hence the belief of blood pressure cannot enter or touch his substance. E.g. one of the requirements for seniors to renew their driving license is medical examination. This renewal process, when spiritualized, is obeying the law of the land. It is a symbol of identification. It cannot cause any anxiety, confusion, pressure, or worry. Renewal represents newness, freshness, growth, beauty, fruition, fertility, joy, blooming, and productivity. Its not a source of dismay or pressure. “The attraction between native qualities will be perpetual only as it is pure and true, bringing sweet seasons of renewal like the returning spring.” [S&H 57:11]

Love circulates good, it never stagnates, pressures or clogs. It flows smoothly. Mrs. Eddy defines “RIVER.  Channel of thought. When smooth and unobstructed, it typifies the course of Truth; but muddy, foaming, and dashing, it is a type of error.” [S&H 593:14-17]

TEMPLE.  Body; the idea of Life, substance, and intelligence; the superstructure of Truth; the shrine of Love” [S&H 595:7]

Let us embrace this superstructure of Truth, as we go about our day to day experiences, and about our Father’s business, with joy, freedom, and gratitude.

The Psalmist says, “[DIVINE LOVE] is my shepherd; I shall not want.     Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [LOVE] for ever.] [S&H 578:5,16]