John Robert Howell
Genesis 1:27 states: "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him." It is worth noting that the Hebrew word here for "man" is "Adam". In Genesis 12:7 man is said to be formed of the dust of the ground, and that "man" is also "adam". Around this fleshly axle theological material mindedness and slavish literalness to the text have been wrapped and tangled for over two millennia.
Without Mary Baker Eddy and her glorious Discovery, we might never have known better. Her inspired and inspiring definition on pages 475-477* of her Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is alone worth the cost of the volume. Students of Christian Science are thus blessed with a knowledge that the man of our heavenly Father God's creating is something much more glorious than the descendants of a couple of wardrobeless sinners cavorting about the Garden of Eden.
*Let me quote from some of the passages in Science and Health:
"Question. -- What is man?
"Answer. -- Man is not matter; he is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material elements. The Scriptures inform us that man is made in the image and likeness of God. Matter is not that likeness. The likeness of Spirit cannot be so unlike Spirit. Man is spiritual and perfect; and because he is spiritual and perfect, he must be so understood in Christian Science. Man is idea, the image, of Love; he is not physique."
"The real man cannot depart from holiness, nor can God, by whom man is evolved, engender the capacity or freedom to sin. A mortal sinner is not God's man. Mortals are the counterfeits of immortals. They are the children of the wicked one, or the one evil, which declares that man begins in dust or as a material embryo. In divine Science, God and the real man are inseparable as divine Principle and idea."
"When speaking God's children, not the children of men, Jesus said, 'The kingdom of God is within you;' that is, Truth and Love reign in the real man, showing that man in God's image is unfallen and eternal. Thus Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is intact, universal, and that man is pure and holy."
Thursday, June 8, 2017
Monday, June 5, 2017
What Keeps Us Safe?
How to be safe
In times like these --
That is the question.
Surround ourselves with
A security detail?
Even this could fail.
No, there's one sure way.
Do what Christ Jesus did,
Look to God to keep us safe,
To see we're never harmed.
We're always armed
When we trust in Him.
For divine fact is,
God is with us
In everything we do.
Whether night or day,
At home or when away.
A faith-lighted thought this is --
That our loving Father
Is never apart from us.
Is this not glorious? --
That His care does surround,
His loving arms are around
All those we love,
Beside them always, above --
And not only ones we greet,
But those we may never meet.
God with us -- what a treasure.
Its comfort beyond all measure.
In times like these --
That is the question.
Surround ourselves with
A security detail?
Even this could fail.
No, there's one sure way.
Do what Christ Jesus did,
Look to God to keep us safe,
To see we're never harmed.
We're always armed
When we trust in Him.
For divine fact is,
God is with us
In everything we do.
Whether night or day,
At home or when away.
A faith-lighted thought this is --
That our loving Father
Is never apart from us.
Is this not glorious? --
That His care does surround,
His loving arms are around
All those we love,
Beside them always, above --
And not only ones we greet,
But those we may never meet.
God with us -- what a treasure.
Its comfort beyond all measure.
Thursday, June 1, 2017
A Life Made New
The New Testament has, among so many glorious statements, this one: "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things become new."
The young man who mows our lawn is a shining example of this. One Christmas recently, he and his wife came to have dinner with us. She had prepared special Mayan dishes and as we were finishing eating, this man said: "I'm not the man I once was." We were not expecting what came next. Apparently when he first came to this area, he went to bars, got in fights, drank heavily. And sadly, was arrested more than once.
Well, this one night in jail he happened to pick up a Spanish New Testament someone had left. He came across something Christ Jesus says, and his life was transformed then and there, he told us. Whatever the particular words were, he couldn't stop thinking about them. When he got out of jail, his life was new. Stopped drinking, got a job, began speaking to others about what Jesus' words had done for him. And every bit of time he can spare from his lawn care work, which he needs to pay his rent, etc. he gives to spreading the Good News, as he calls it.
We knew nothing of his former life, of course. And you could not find a more reliable, sweet, hard-working, honest person than he is. This just goes to show how transforming are our Master's teachings. Thank God for them.
The young man who mows our lawn is a shining example of this. One Christmas recently, he and his wife came to have dinner with us. She had prepared special Mayan dishes and as we were finishing eating, this man said: "I'm not the man I once was." We were not expecting what came next. Apparently when he first came to this area, he went to bars, got in fights, drank heavily. And sadly, was arrested more than once.
Well, this one night in jail he happened to pick up a Spanish New Testament someone had left. He came across something Christ Jesus says, and his life was transformed then and there, he told us. Whatever the particular words were, he couldn't stop thinking about them. When he got out of jail, his life was new. Stopped drinking, got a job, began speaking to others about what Jesus' words had done for him. And every bit of time he can spare from his lawn care work, which he needs to pay his rent, etc. he gives to spreading the Good News, as he calls it.
We knew nothing of his former life, of course. And you could not find a more reliable, sweet, hard-working, honest person than he is. This just goes to show how transforming are our Master's teachings. Thank God for them.
Sunday, May 21, 2017
What Jesus Knew
Knowing what Jesus knew --
Does this not make thought soar
Beyond trivialities,
personalities?
Knowledge already here,
God-given Discovery
Available in a book*
Truths made clear
For all to see.
Finding out what Jesus knew --
Of all earth's fleeting pleasures
Nothing appeals to me more.
*"Science and Health with
Key to the Scriptures"
By Mary Baker Eddy
Does this not make thought soar
Beyond trivialities,
personalities?
Knowledge already here,
God-given Discovery
Available in a book*
Truths made clear
For all to see.
Finding out what Jesus knew --
Of all earth's fleeting pleasures
Nothing appeals to me more.
*"Science and Health with
Key to the Scriptures"
By Mary Baker Eddy
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
The Honest Truth
Some years ago a friend who was a student of Christian Science, as I was and still am, said to me: "Remember, it's the absolute Truth that redeems us." What did he mean by this? That the God-given Truths Christ Jesus gave the world, and the Truth the teachings of Christian Science reiterate, are what redeem us. Redeem us from what? From the false, mortal sense of existence as apart from God, and being in matter.
And how grateful I am to the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, that the divine facts given in her master work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" not only have transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands over the years, all over the world, but they continue to do so.
Instead of watering down what God gave her to give mankind, she writes in the Preface to this work: "The author has not compromised conscience to suit the general drift of thought, but has bluntly and honestly given the text of Truth. She has made no effort to embellish, elaborate, or treat in full detail so infinite a theme. By thousands of well-authenticated cases of healing, she and her students have proved the worth of her teachings."
I and so many others are the beneficiaries of the honest Truth found in her book.
And how grateful I am to the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, that the divine facts given in her master work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" not only have transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands over the years, all over the world, but they continue to do so.
Instead of watering down what God gave her to give mankind, she writes in the Preface to this work: "The author has not compromised conscience to suit the general drift of thought, but has bluntly and honestly given the text of Truth. She has made no effort to embellish, elaborate, or treat in full detail so infinite a theme. By thousands of well-authenticated cases of healing, she and her students have proved the worth of her teachings."
I and so many others are the beneficiaries of the honest Truth found in her book.
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Between a Rock and a Hard Place?
When we find ourselves there
and we can't see a way through,
we can look in God's direction.
He always knows what to do.
Can anything that comes up
in our day to day
baffle the Creator of all?
No, never. He can clear the way.
"In all thy ways acknowledge him
and he shall direct
thy paths"
we are told in Proverbs.
Doing this will bring solutions
we, unaided, just cannot see.
Then let us, dear Lord,
be turning ever more to Thee.
Monday, May 1, 2017
Christ-Healing Requires Christly Love
People will pray to God to heal them of some difficulty. But do they fulfill their part by loving as His Son did and taught others to do?
This is what our loving, heavenly Father expects of us. And what Christ Jesus makes abundantly clear in his teachings. For instance, the thirteenth chapter of John contains these words of Jesus: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."
Christly loving of our fellow beings is the basis for spiritual healing, as the life of our Master demonstrated. His healings exemplified the nature of God as tender, understanding Love, who knows what we have need of before we ask Him. Christ-healing is based on this knowledge of God and man, and faith in and understanding of divine Love constitute the healing power of all prayer in Christian Science.
While there are probably many reasons why we are sometimes less loving than we would like to be, one thing is certain, we all can express more Christly affection. They study and practice of Christian Science bring increased spiritual insights that lead to an increase in spiritual love. This religion shows that as God's expression, His image and likeness, we have the ability to love; it is natural to each one of us. Understanding this encourages us to see our fellow beings as they truly are--as God's man, the perfect, sinless, pure, loving reflection of God. This is the real spiritual identity of each one of us. And no matter how ungodlike someone may seem to be, we can know that right there is God's perfect, spiritual child.
This recognition enables us to feel more healing, compassion toward others. Why? Because in the consciousness where Christly love predominates, the divine is embracing the human. And this actually causes our hearts to change in a wonderful, tangible way. As we make earnest and consistent efforts to "put off the old man" (to use St. Paul's phrase), we find ourselves, to our joy and delight, feeling something of the warmth and tenderness that animated Jesus. We feel the restorative, healing Christ surrounding us and those we deal with. This helps us to see through limiting, spiritually unenlightened views of our ourselves and others that would keep kind words unspoken and loving deeds undone.
Some people may feel at times that there is something a little weak about being warm and loving--something that strong, self-reliant people just don't do. But think about Jesus. Where have we ever had an example of a more courageous yet tenderhearted person? Having a heart that overflowed with love didn't interfere with his moral courage or healing power or dynamic spirituality one bit.
To be caring, and loving toward others can demand great spiritual stamina at times. But even if we have to pace the floors in prayer in order to conform to what the Master requires of us, through the power of Christ we can gain forgiveness and healing love.
Mary Baker Eddy points out in Miscellaneous Writings, "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."
Wonderful, healing words to think about here.
This is what our loving, heavenly Father expects of us. And what Christ Jesus makes abundantly clear in his teachings. For instance, the thirteenth chapter of John contains these words of Jesus: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."
Christly loving of our fellow beings is the basis for spiritual healing, as the life of our Master demonstrated. His healings exemplified the nature of God as tender, understanding Love, who knows what we have need of before we ask Him. Christ-healing is based on this knowledge of God and man, and faith in and understanding of divine Love constitute the healing power of all prayer in Christian Science.
While there are probably many reasons why we are sometimes less loving than we would like to be, one thing is certain, we all can express more Christly affection. They study and practice of Christian Science bring increased spiritual insights that lead to an increase in spiritual love. This religion shows that as God's expression, His image and likeness, we have the ability to love; it is natural to each one of us. Understanding this encourages us to see our fellow beings as they truly are--as God's man, the perfect, sinless, pure, loving reflection of God. This is the real spiritual identity of each one of us. And no matter how ungodlike someone may seem to be, we can know that right there is God's perfect, spiritual child.
This recognition enables us to feel more healing, compassion toward others. Why? Because in the consciousness where Christly love predominates, the divine is embracing the human. And this actually causes our hearts to change in a wonderful, tangible way. As we make earnest and consistent efforts to "put off the old man" (to use St. Paul's phrase), we find ourselves, to our joy and delight, feeling something of the warmth and tenderness that animated Jesus. We feel the restorative, healing Christ surrounding us and those we deal with. This helps us to see through limiting, spiritually unenlightened views of our ourselves and others that would keep kind words unspoken and loving deeds undone.
Some people may feel at times that there is something a little weak about being warm and loving--something that strong, self-reliant people just don't do. But think about Jesus. Where have we ever had an example of a more courageous yet tenderhearted person? Having a heart that overflowed with love didn't interfere with his moral courage or healing power or dynamic spirituality one bit.
To be caring, and loving toward others can demand great spiritual stamina at times. But even if we have to pace the floors in prayer in order to conform to what the Master requires of us, through the power of Christ we can gain forgiveness and healing love.
Mary Baker Eddy points out in Miscellaneous Writings, "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."
Wonderful, healing words to think about here.
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