As ordinarily considered, health refers to one's physical condition; but Webster defines it in a broader sense as "state of being hale, sound, or whole, in body, mind, or soul." It is, however, for Christian Science to raise the standard still higher, and link health with holiness. Indeed, our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, has shown us that the only true basis for health is attained by reversing the testimony of the physical senses and thus beholding man as he really is, the reflection of God, the only Mind.
We further learn in Christian Science that health does not relate to matter, but is a condition of Mind, reflected in man. From the human standpoint, health is many-sided and comprises the state of one's outlook, temperament, and thinking, just as much as it does one's physical well-being; and, indeed, if any of these are inharmonious, the sense of health is not attained.
When Jesus healed the impotent man by the pool of Bethesda, it is recorded that "immediately the man was made whole." Later, when Jesus saw him in the temple, he said to him, "Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more." In this instance, being made whole was shown to be not merely a bodily change, but a mental change, whereby sin is forsaken. When one is made spiritually whole, the desire to sin is overcome, and the temptation to be physically ill is gone. Wholeness is what earnest Christian Scientists are seeking—to express the health which is harmony throughout the entire being.
