I'VE LEARNED THAT WHEN Christ Jesus told his disciples to heal the sick he was really giving a command and not making a suggestion. That directive is just as valid today as it was 2,000 years ago. Mary Baker Eddy described the Christ that Jesus so completely demonstrated as "... the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 332). The Christ is still speaking to us today.
I learned an important lesson about listening to and following through on Christ's messages when I was a freshman in high school. One night I was playing football in our backyard with kids from the neighborhood. It was late and very dark but we kept playing anyway. At one point, running to the goal, I fell down hard and heard a cracking sound as my right forearm hit the ground. As I lay there, I could feel the edge of the bone against the skin. The first thought I had was that I had broken my arm. The second thought was "You heal it." I was surprised at that message, but my response was both immediate and determined: "Yes, I will." I had been attending a Christian Science Sunday School since a child, where I learned that because God is Spirit and perfect, and because I am made in His image and likeness, I am spiritual and perfect. I knew that this spiritual fact could heal.
Without telling my friends the extent of the injury, I went into the house where my mom and dad were reading in the living room. Without mentioning the injury to them, I said good night and went to bed. I lay down on the bed with an extra pillow under the broken arm. With my other hand I reached for Science and Health and turned to the first sentence of "the scientific statement of being" on page 468, "There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter." I decided to think about just that one sentence until I understood it.
