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Bible Insights

Since 2003, our Bible column has provided readers with valuable Bible scholarship and historical context. Now the column features shorter insights and ideas from contributors' individual Bible study. This approach will continue to shed new light on familiar (or not so familiar) Bible stories, history, and scholarship. But we also hope it will inspire more readers to dig deeper into their own study of the Bible and Christian Science--and to offer their insights and discoveries for publication.

Stand still

From the July 2011 issue of The Christian Science Journal


I’m always grateful when a familiar story in the Bible brings new inspiration and becomes practical in my daily experience. 

One day, the weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson included the account of a funeral on the outskirts of a city, where a number of mourners gathered in support of a woman bereft of her husband, and, on top of that, the loss of her only son (see Luke 7:11–16). Apparently nearby, Jesus had compassion that compelled him to approach the scene and tell the grieving mother to “weep not.” With that, he immediately put a halt to the procession and raised her son to life. It was no longer an occasion to mourn.

As I read the story this time, I thought about a particular family member whom I had never been close to. The connection we’ve had has culminated in estrangement during the past few years, despite a number of attempts to rekindle the relationship. As a result, I have often found myself mentally rehearsing a sense of regret. Now the words of the account took on new meaning, where it says, “He came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still.” Suddenly, the story spoke to me of a need to stop my own mental “procession” and raise thought to a level that embraced this family member with the love of our Father-Mother God, linking us together as we’ve always been and ever will continue to be eternally. 

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