Editorials

Every member of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and every member of a Christian Science branch church can heal. Indeed, every individual can heal themselves and others, since in truth, God is the only healer, and the capacity to demonstrate God’s power is inherent in our spiritual makeup as children of God—a capacity just waiting to be discovered and cultivated.

Sometime around 700 bc the prophet Isaiah said, “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” ( Isaiah 2:4 ).   Fast-forward to the early 20th century and Isaiah’s words, if read as a literal prophecy, still weren’t realized.

The purpose of everything Christ Jesus said and did was to make people see and feel the vividness of the kingdom of heaven, or the supremacy and actuality of God, good, in their lives. This good news of Spirit’s power and sovereignty may have initially seemed like some far-off thing that could only be hoped for, and very much separate from their daily lives.

No one was stopping to help the man. The student wanted to stop, but he was headed for the last exam of his last year in seminary—a final he had to pass in order to accept a badly needed job.

At this time of year , many of us reflect on our lives and resolve to do better. We may consider the example of individuals we admire, and then attempt to model their good qualities.

It can be pretty easy to think of the story of Jesus’ nativity in the Gospels in terms of a series of enormously difficult obstacles that were overcome through a seemingly impossible series of events. The account ends with the “miraculous” appearing of God’s Son in the form of a vulnerable-looking baby—the Christ child—who, even after being born, still has to contend with a king determined to do away with him.

Compassion moves us in a lot of different ways, perhaps especially during the holidays. People volunteer at food banks, donate toys, serve meals in shelters, or carry out other, unseen kindnesses.

At those times when we feel up against a brick wall—whether in a relationship, with a work issue, or with a health concern—what good does it do to realize and understand what Spirit, or God, is already and always doing?    As a starting point, Spirit, a biblical name for God, creates, governs, and maintains all that is spiritual, all that is real. That includes each of us as spiritual offspring of God.

It’s a question we may want to ask ourselves often: Are we going to accept what we think we’re seeing and react accordingly? Or, are we going to give our attention to what really matters but may be unseen at the time?  Circumstances or news of the day may elicit any number of reactions, including discouragement, sadness, frustration, disgust, fear, and even outrage. But many have found throughout the ages that having faith in what may not be readily apparent at a point in time—faith and conviction in the goodness of divine Life, God—can have profound and healing effects.

A young child just learning what sums are doesn’t realize they’re being introduced to the principle of addition, and the science of mathematics. Whatever is based in science is governed by principles or laws, be it music, tennis, or nuclear physics, and so on.