Spiritual Short

In studying the Bible, I have learned that man’s perfection as a child of God is eternal and unchanging. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes, “The Scriptures inform us that man is made in the image and likeness of God” ( p.

When I made the journey from the United States to South Africa for my brother’s wedding, my airplane route was not direct. I was scheduled to fly from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Chicago O’Hare, then overnight to London Heathrow, followed by another overnight flight to Johannesburg, then to Durban, South Africa.

For several days I had been striving to feel the harmony and joy of divine Love’s presence but was finding it difficult to forgive a relative’s unkindness toward me. Then I remembered a potent statement Christ Jesus made about perception: “The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness” ( Luke 11:34 ).

Years ago, while attending college, I had the privilege of living in the home of a Christian Science practitioner. She became my “college mother.

One night, many years ago, when a friend came to visit, he invited me to have sex with him. Although I cared very deeply for the man, he knew that I believe that celibacy outside of marriage is an expression of spiritual integrity.

One morning a few years ago, I awoke with a headache. Despite a full schedule, I decided to stay home and pray with Mary Baker Eddy’s statement from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need” ( p.

One day at my home-office desk, I suddenly felt weak and woozy. I didn’t ask God to help solve the physical problem, nor did I try to figure out the cause of it.

I well recall the day our family gathered around the television to watch the launch of a rocket carrying astronaut Alan Shepard in the Project Mercury spacecraft Freedom 7. That was on May 5, 1961, which was about the beginning of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s race to put a man on the moon.

One day when my girls were small, I woke with early symptoms of the flu. Those same symptoms had repeatedly led to the flu in my high school and college years.

Imagine going through your mail and finding a letter that begins with this greeting: “To all that be in [your town], beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” ( Romans 1:7, 8 ).