The Scriptures are living words, and words to be lived. Their voice can't be locked into the past tense. To explore their spiritual meaning opens the heart to new possibilities. This column records insights for life that individuals have drawn from Scriptural study framed by Bible Lessons presented in the Christian Science Quarterly. These Lessons consist of references from the Bible and from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Subjects of the twenty-six Lessons include such topics as "God, ""Man, ""Christ Jesus, ""Are Sin, Disease, and Death Real?"
My husband and I had just started a business and had a small child. Time seemed in fairly short supply. My attempts at studying the Bible Lesson seemed hurried and forced. I found myself attempting just to finish the Lesson. Then I decided that under no circumstances would I "study" in this manner, even if it meant putting the Lesson aside.
I wanted my study of Christian Science to be based on honesty and sincerity, divested of all ritualism and superstition. I did put the reading of the Lesson aside a couple of times, and then the pressure, the feeling that I had to try to rush through it, stopped. (Today, I see this as a matter of breaking through the false belief that religion is a mere repetition of certain duties.) Since that breakthrough, the Lesson has always been a joy, and I feel that every Monday I get to open a new gift packed with a full week of treasures.
