The Value Of Spiritual Intuition
MY brother and I were talking about how inspiring the work of God is. It was fun talking together, especially when he told me what had happened during one of his recent jobs. He was digging a ditch in town with a backhoe. He had worked all morning and was very close to being finished. He felt, however, a strong intuition to stop and go eat lunch. He did.
But it was odd. Hunger had never stopped him before when he was so close to finishing. The job would not be significantly delayed, however. As he was eating, a man walked into the restaurant and asked, ``Does anyone in here know who is operating that backhoe over there?'' Of course my brother spoke up.
The man had been driving by and noticed the work being done. He had worked for the city and was very aware that within a few more scoops major city pipes would be ruined. Before the man left (never to be seen again) my brother warmly thanked him! After he finished lunch he removed the backhoe so final stages of the work could be done safely by hand.
Intuition is a quality of God. We naturally express it as we recognize man's true identity as spiritual. This is what Paul referred to when he said in First Corinthians, ``We have the mind of Christ'' (2:16). God is Mind, so His creation is capable only of pure, helpful, healing thoughts. The ideas of Mind--which include you and me--are perpetually manifesting intelligence and order. These are Christlike thoughts. Christ Jesus was spiritually intuitive. His presentation of the Christ nature enabled him to be insightful, to know the right thing to say or do. Understanding God as divine Mind allows us to trust and obey right direction, as well. Mind always knows the right thing to do. And we naturally reflect intelligence from our creator.
Mind doesn't know unintelligence, of course. Matter is unintelligent. Divine Mind knows nothing of backhoes and pipes, but is fully expressed in such qualities as appreciation and unselfishness. These qualities are infinite, endless, and can always be expected. It was natural for the city worker to be observant and to discern where to find my brother. Intuition involves these characteristics of good.
Intuition is a spiritual faculty. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, writes in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, ``Spiritual sense, contradicting the material senses, involves intuition, hope, faith, understanding, fruition, reality'' (p. 298). The ability to discern Spirit, God, is intact. Just as we perceive patience or sincerity with spiritual sense, we also perceive the direction of Mind. My brother was happily acknowledging the spiritual good around him, and this Christlike thought was receptive to a continuance of good. If he had been cherishing anger or resentment--blaming the man that hired him for being misleading, for instance--his thought would have been asleep to divine direction.
To material sense, intuition may seem ridiculous. But God doesn't lead His image and likeness to express or experience harm. An unprogressive, selfish idea is inconceivable to Mind, God. And spiritual sense innately responds to God. The work of God was going on even though the backhoe sat still.
A Christly consciousness sees what Mind has already established, a perfectly ordered universe. The universe, is not material or limited, however. All substance is spiritual and unlimited. And it is sustained by Mind. Right intuition is caused by God, Mind. When we follow spiritual intuition, we witness the perpetual reality of good.
