I was so sick that even dragging myself painfully across the living room floor to the stereo took great effort. Knowing my audio CDs were there kept me moving, though. When at last I had a CD in place, I lay on the floor and just listened to the healing truths in the Christian Science textbook, Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. After maybe half an hour, I felt all the acute symptoms of food poisoning lift, and I was able to move freely. Simply listening to Science and Health had healed me.
I’ve thought about this healing many times since. It’s significant to me for an unusual reason: I don’t remember which passages I listened to. No particular line from this familiar book struck me in such a way that I thought, “This is the perfect law to meet this challenge.” Instead, I simply soaked up what I was hearing, knowing the words to be true. And I was healed.
What a magnificent book! I love to think of Science and Health as “God’s book,” for, indeed, He gave it to Mary Baker Eddy, who said of her authorship: “It was not myself, but the divine power of Truth and Love, infinitely above me, which dictated Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 114). She also stated: “The works I have written on Christian Science contain absolute Truth, and my necessity was to tell it; … . I was a scribe under orders; and who can refrain from transcribing what God indites, and ought not that one to take the cup, drink all of it, and give thanks?” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 311).
That’s quite an arresting statement. A “scribe under orders” writing down “what God indites.” She’s making it clear that the words are God’s and her role was to write them down. What an enormous, conscientious task. What a careful listener she was. No wonder she revised Science and Health over 400 times and prayed over phrases and paragraphs for days and weeks, “… only to give a clearer and fuller expression of its original meaning” (Science and Health, p. 361).
Martha Wilcox, a worker in Mrs. Eddy’s home, watched her write the sentence at the bottom of page 442 in the textbook: “She wrote almost constantly for three days. She consulted the dictionary, the grammar, studied synonyms and antonyms, and when she had finished, she had these two lines to add to Science and Health. I marveled at her perseverance and the time she consumed in writing two lines. But she had worked out a scientific statement for Christian Science students that would stand through the ages” (We Knew Mary Baker Eddy, Vol. I, Amplified Edition, p. 475).
How selfless she was—how faithful and obedient. And how grateful I am that she was, because now we have Science and Health (along with the Bible) to read and study. Mrs. Eddy called the textbook “the precious volume” (Retrospection and Introspection, p. 37). And it is such a precious volume to me. I love it, plain and simple. I love the Bible. I love to read these invaluable books. To find statements in them that are new with every reading and rereading. To be inspired and healed by that reading, as when I was healed of food poisoning simply by drinking in the textbook’s truths.
The testifiers in the last chapter of the textbook, “Fruitage,” knew its value. One writes: “I resolved at once to borrow a copy, and not dreaming of the sacrifice that my friend would make by conferring such a favor, I went and asked her for a loan of Science and Health. I never saw any one part so reluctantly with a book as my friend did with her copy of the textbook” (p. 613). I love that word “reluctantly.” It’s caused me to ask myself, “If I had only one copy of this precious book, would I be reluctant to share it, because that would mean I would no longer have access to it?” And the answer is an unequivocal yes.
I simply soaked up what I was hearing, knowing the words to be true. And I was healed.
How blessed we are, then, that in our time we’ll never be placed in that position! Print copies of the textbook are relatively easy to obtain, and affordable. Digital copies exist as e-books, in the Concord software product, and online at christianscience.com. It’s been translated into 16 languages to date. Quite simply, we’re never without access to either the textbook or its source material, the Bible. Physical access is no longer an issue; instead, the challenge is mental availability. Busy lives dictate a never-ending list of errands, work and family obligations. Then there’s the well-meaning spiritually focused to-do list: attend our church services, read the Bible Lesson, the Journal, the Christian Science Sentinel, and The Christian Science Monitor.
How can we make sure to set aside priceless time to read the Bible and our textbook, the two most important books in our home? To read them for the sheer joy and learning that this reading brings—as well as to witness the healings that naturally result. How can we not make time for something that brings only blessings, healings, and answers?
Recently I had an unexpected argument with a friend in the middle of a tough workday, which left me feeling deeply hurt and maligned. When I came home that night quite wrung out, the temptation to switch on the TV and “rest” was a strong one. I knew I’d find peace and answers if instead I read Science and Health. Yet the pull of the TV was strong, and I found myself standing in the middle of the kitchen, reasoning between the two choices. I yielded to the inclination to read the textbook and sat down at the dining room table. Imagine my delight (and inward chuckle) when I flipped it open randomly and my eyes fell on this passage: “Would existence without personal friends be to you a blank? … this seeming vacuum is already filled with divine Love” (p. 266). I continued to read for about 30 minutes, just thinking about these truths and their application to my life and this present situation. I didn’t close the book until I felt spiritually satisfied and at peace. I had my answers, and I felt refreshed and inspired.
Just as important as finding a sense of peace, I’d experienced how strong the pull away from the textbook can be. We must be diligent not to let our thoughts be downtrodden by the wiles of animal magnetism in regard to reading our “precious volume”—whether those suggestions come in the guise of “too busy,” “I’ll do that later,” or “I’d rather … .” Instead, let’s take our mental stand for God and cherish the fact that nothing can separate us from Him; nothing can distract us or interfere with our perfect reflection of God, our oneness with Him—facts which are explained so clearly in the Bible and Mrs. Eddy’s writings.
Nothing can come between us and our love for these books. Nothing can stop us from reading them, being inspired by them, and healing ourselves and others as a result. “The tree is known by its fruit. The student of this book will tell you that his higher life is the result of his conscientious study of Science and Health in connection with the Bible” (Miscellany, p. 112).
Conscientious study of these books leads to a higher life. That’s pretty clear. Count me in! I rejoice with Jeremiah: “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16).
