The Apostle Paul said, "I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." II Cor. 12:10. Sometimes it seems that our lives include a great deal of infirmity and distress. Can we nevertheless willingly echo Paul's affirmation?
Christ, Truth, God's saving message to humanity, brings release from the sorrows associated with earthly existence, as Christ Jesus proved. Yet Christianity has never promised unmarred tranquillity. One scholar notes, "The suffering of the followers of Jesus is unavoidable, because the Savior's work runs counter to the aspirations of the world and its powers." The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 4 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1 962), p. 452.
In accord with the Bible, Christian Science affirms that God is wholly good. And it teaches that man and all of God's creation reflect Him. Therefore they are purely good —and entirely spiritual. Terribly real though evil may sometimes appear, it is not created by God, and so it's no part of our true and eternal selfhood. Nor has God sent the suffering that accompanies sin.
