It doesn't seem just that Jesus should have spent a long, dark night of sorrow in the garden of Gethsemane—much less been crucified. His exemplary ministry of healing had so uplifted mankind with spirituality that it could not lead him downward to defeat. But the work he accomplished in that garden was indispensable to the resurrection that followed, and holds vital relevance today to the spiritual growth of those endeavoring to obey his Christly command to heal.
Christian Science helps us see that Christ-healing is a normal result of spiritual progress. One who is steadily making the effort to rise higher in his understanding of man's inseverable relationship to God, immortal Life, sees increasing evidence of his own and others' spirituality, dominion, and safety. The Preface of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy declares, "The physical healing of Christian Science results now, as in Jesus' time, from the operation of divine Principle, before which sin and disease lose their reality in human consciousness and disappear as naturally and as necessarily as darkness gives place to light and sin to reformation." Science and Health, p. xi
But what of those healings that do not seem as effortless as light replacing darkness? What do we do if we find ourselves in a struggle in which there seems to be no evidence of healing in spite of our best efforts? Those are just the times when we can turn gratefully to the example of the Master in Gethsemane and humbly follow his lead. The Way-shower never ceases to show us the way, and the Christly way always shows us the way out of a night of despair.
