You don't have to be ill

        The following is shared with those readers who are not familiar with the teachings of Christian Science, to offer new hope and solid help in obtaining health.


        The other day at the grocery store, I happened to hear one woman telling another about a report she had just seen in a magazine.  According to her, on any given day in North America alone, millions of people suffer with ill health.


        I couldn't help thinking about a remedy that is always available--one that does not involve an operation or dependence on prescription  drugs.


        The remedy I'm talking about is the healing power of Christianity that Jesus practiced and that is explained in Christian Science.  Its teachings make practical the divine method of deliverance referred to in Christ Jesus' words "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  (John 8:32)  The study of divine Science shows us how to heal from a purely metaphysical standpoint, through following the Master's example.


        As one studies this Science with a humble, open mind, with consecration, the way of healing through spiritual means becomes clear.  It is important to realize that what one refers to as a physical condition is actually the objectification of thought.  And so as one purifies, or spiritualizes, his thinking, it naturally follows the that body becomes more harmonious.


        Because our body is an expression of our thought, the great need is for a change of mental standpoint.  Through prayer we gain a correct, spiritual view of man as the image of God.  In other words, we begin to realize that sickness of any kind is not a part of our real selfhood made in God's likeness. The spiritual concept of man is basic, and this is why it is helpful to go back time and again to the Bible record that man is made in God' image.  Accepting hat God is perfect spirit, as the Bible teaches, we realize that the creations of Spirit can only be spiritual, perfect.  And this is the reality of our being, despite appearances to the contrary.


        Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, write in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures:  "Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual,--neither in nor of matter,--and the body will then utter no complaints.  If suffering from a belief in sickness,  you will find yourself suddenly well."  (S&H, page 14)


        The last one hundred pages of Science and Health are devoted to healings that resulted from studying this book. Among those wonderful experiences, a reader can see that Christian Science has lifted countless thousands out of painful physical conditions.


        As one learns that man, created in God's own image, is the perfect expression of the one divine Mind, it becomes clear that man must be spiritual and harmonious--that he cannot, in reality, be impaired in any way.  He must function perfectly because he is governed by the one God.  No matter  how real it appears to be, infirmity has no true existence in God's sight, because made it.


        The need is not to ignore ill health, but to turn thought away from the view of man as material and diseased and toward the understanding that he is actually spiritual and perfect right now, untouiched by suffering.


        As the Holy Bible promises us, "I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord." (Jeremiah 30:17)

The One Only Way

"I've never once felt close to God"
A friend confided recently --
An amazing thing to hear
For those of us who do,
Could this be the problem,
That she, like so many others
Are trying to find peace and joy
While leaving Christ Jesus out,
Whose essential role they doubt
(If they even think about it at all?)
God does want His children
To feel close to Him,
To have all the good He has to give
But the path there is one --
The one given us all
By His beloved Son.


"I am the way, the truth, and the life:
No man cometh unto the Father,
           But by me"
said our Lord and Master dear
             (John 14:6)


Loving and living what Jesus said,
We can't help feeling our
heavenly Father's presence,
His indescribable love for us.

Don't Despair

        In telling his disciples about conditions that would come to pass, Christ Jesus spoke of "men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth."  (Luke 21:26)


        Many people, observing present world conditions, may be ready to conclude that these days must surely be upon us.  They feel overwhelmed at times.  They say, "What next?!  Many lose heart.


        This, however, is the thing one should not do when faced with disheartening circumstances.  When Jesus warned men of eventual upheaval, he also offered a way of escape. "When these things begin to come to pass," he counseled, "then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."  (Luke 21:28)


        One's redemption or salvation from fear and despair can come as soon as one progresses in his understanding of God's government of man and the universe.  To those in search of renewed hope and courage Christian Science offers this view of reality:  man and the universe spiritually created.  It shows one how to indeed look up, through enlightened prayer, to find God's ever-present, comforting help.  Through the study and application of Christian Science, countless individuals the world over have found and are finding that there is no problem too overwhelming for God to solve.


        Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (page 390):  "It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony."  Problems seem hopeless only if we think of man as separated from God, left to find for himself in a material, somewhat mysterious universe controlled by amoral forces.  But Christian Science teaches that man is spiritual, perfect, the expression of God, inseparable from God, loved by God, protected by God, secure in God.  And the same spiritual laws that enabled Jesus to heal and regenerate men are available to everyone today.


        The basis of Jesus' unfailing ability to subdue difficulties of every description was his practical understanding of divine law, his consciousness of man's spiritual relationship to God.  God, good, governs all things harmoniously, and the divine government is reflected in our daily lives.  When we realize that the divine Mind is continuously maintaining all in spiritual harmony and perfection, we can begin to see there is no hopeless condition out there, no insoluble problem, no need to feel overwhelmed by world events.


        Knowing that all-powerful God is govern His creation keeps hope and confidence intact, lifted above distressing material conditions.  There is never any need to despair, for God is the only reality.
       

Never Out of God's Care

       
        Because of the Bible's assurances that God, divine Love, is an ever-present, unfailing help in trouble, we can turn in complete confidence to Him. No matter what situation we may find ourselves in, God's help is always at hand, even--or more accurately, especially--when the need is urgent.


        Christ Jesus taught us the inseparability of man from God.  We're able to see the effects of this truth as we put our trust in God's all-powerful care. As Jesus said, "He that sent me is with me:  the Father hath not left me alone." Nor does our loving Father ever left you and me alone or desolate.


        Knowing that man is God's child, wholly spiritual and safe in the care of his creator, regardless of how desperate things may seem to be, the Master was able to overcome all difficulties.  And Jesus' works bring to light the fact that man can't be apart from God for a moment.  Through understanding that our real being is spiritual, and turning to God for a way out of trouble, each one of us can know the comforting assurance of divine Love's care under all circumstances.


        Our true selfhood, as the outcome of Spirit, God, is spiritual, not material.  Thus our real identity is not at the mercy of human circumstances.  The divine fact is that you and I are God's child, and we can never, for an instant, be deprived of our Father's loving help.  We're never really apart from our divine source, God.  As God's man, we are and always have been preserved by His unerring laws of safety and exemption from harm.  Such divine facts give us the authority and confidence we need to prevail over difficulties.


        We have Christ Jesus to thank for revealing and proving fully the Father's constant love for His children.  And when we're empowered with the spiritual truths Jesus knew about God and man, we can prove for ourselves that we are never out of His wonderful care.