God is Love. Efficacious, ever-present Love is infinite healing power. The gentle touch of divine Love upon human thought releases us from our ignorance of God and its accompanying fear, encourages us to yield to the government of Love, and heals disease. Because the human body is the objective state of mortal thought, our bodies manifest health and harmony when our thought is governed by divine Truth and Love. Health can be thought of as the consciousness of Love's presence. When we are aware of the presence and power of Love, we are conscious of the true substance of health. In the light of Love, discord and disease disappear. The Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, states, "Let unselfishness, goodness, mercy, justice, health, holiness, love—the kingdom of heaven—reign within us, and sin, disease, and death will diminish until they finally disappear." Science and Health, p. 248
Does this mean that if love isn't reigning in our thought, we have no hope for health and freedom? No. Human thought isn't the healer; it is what needs healing. Divine Mind, God, Love, is always the healer. Christ, Truth, is the message of divine Love acting upon human thought and freeing it from fear, hate, and disease. As the human mind yields to the divine, it is transformed and healed. The body then expresses this healthy state of thought.
Certainly pure, good, loving thoughts benefit our bodies, but we shouldn't despair simply because we haven't overcome all sin. Christ Jesus taught us to forgive others their faults—and then we'll be forgiven. Such forgiveness doesn't condone sin or leave humanity to stagnate in sin. Rather it helps to teach us the nature of Love and of man's true being as Love's likeness. As we learn of divine Love, and learn who we really are, we discover true satisfaction and joy and become willing to part from sin.
