We are used to dismissing as illusion certain things that our physical senses behold—a rainbow on the rug from sunshine striking a prism, tracks narrowing off in the distance, the distorted images of ourselves in a house of mirrors. We disbelieve what our eyes take in because we know what's really true. But seldom do we find people denying sickness, malformation, or even sinful behavior, on the basis that these are illusion. Why? Because the spiritual truth of God and man, which exposes their illusory nature, isn't generally known and understood.
This spiritual reality was what Mary Baker Eddy came to understand through her discovery of Christian Science, and this reality is clearly indicated in these words found in the first chapter of Genesis: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him." Gen. 1:27. This Bible statement is gospel—an absolute, unchanging truth that declares the perfection of man as the image of God, Spirit. Holding steadfastly, understandingly, to this truth when challenged by images of disease or suffering, we'll find healing. Why? Because we'll recognize the illusory nature of the discord—see through its pretense—just as we see through the illusion of those tracks converging in the distance.
The spiritual, perfect man of God's creating—the true being of each one of us—is not visible to the physical senses. Man must always be revealed to us through spiritual sense. We must be willing to turn away from the discordant material picture presenting itself to our thought, and turn to what God, pure Mind, is telling us about His perfect spiritual creation. This demonstrates that we do love God supremely and are willing to believe His Word over what the physical senses are telling us. This isn't ignoring discord but confronting it with a healing response.
We come, then, to a big point in spiritual healing, and the main point of this article—that matter doesn't matter. The condition or appearance of matter is not what determines how or if a healing will take place. Admittedly, this is a radical mental stand to take, totally opposite to the generally accepted way of dealing with physical troubles—examining, doctoring, and dosing matter. But the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mrs. Eddy, basing its teachings on Christ Jesus' example, tells us, "Only through radical reliance on Truth can scientific healing power be realized." Science and Health, p. 167. Radically relying on Truth—on divine Spirit—necessarily precludes relying on matter or physical laws.
Probably all who love the Gospels have wondered how Jesus healed with such ease. Obviously, the master Christian didn't think as most people think. He identified man spiritually, as God's offspring, heir to all that the Father imparts. He taught us that God is Love and that He does not send affliction.
Mrs. Eddy discovered the Science underlying Christ Jesus' teachings. She saw, as the Bible reveals, that God is infinite Love, a warm and tender Principle, whose love for His children never varies. She came to see that Love is incapable of sending or condoning sickness. She also realized God's oneness and allness, and saw that if Spirit is All, matter is not the solid substance it seems to be—in the final analysis it is nothing. She taught God's government in the here and now of our life, because He is our very Life and Mind. She taught the perfection and sinlessness of man's real being as God's expression. She knew she was correct in her conclusions, because healings resulted from her increased understanding of God. We, too, can prove the truth of what she discovered.
Catching a glimpse of God's allness allows us to see that matter is not what it appears to be. It's not solid, immovable substance. It's temporary, subject to change—illusory. On the other hand, the things of Spirit are changeless, eternally good, substantial, and dependable. What is of God is real; whatever is constantly changing (physical sense testimony) must fall under the classification of unreal.
Accepting these truths allows us to reason spiritually. This is a moment-by-moment process of challenging thoughts on the basis of their source. Do they have their origin in God, true Mind, or do they come from the so-called carnal mentality that sees life as strictly physical? Science and Health says: "The so-called laws of health are simply laws of mortal belief. The premises being erroneous, the conclusions are wrong. Truth makes no laws to regulate sickness, sin, and death, for these are unknown to Truth and should not be recognized as reality." Ibid., p. 184.
The Christ is what conveys the message of absolute truth from God to humanity. It speaks to the individual in a language he can understand. As we turn to God in times of trouble, the Christ acts upon our present sense of what's real and what isn't until the perfect, spiritual concept of man holds sway in our consciousness. What effect does this have? It has the same effect as waking up from a dream. It breaks the dream. The erroneous scene, the disease or suffering, fades out of thought, and the true sense of life in God, perfect and harmonious, manifests itself in healing.
Most of the time we don't recognize how poorly we are identifying ourselves. We tend to accept the limitations that go along with the belief of being born into matter and living out a human life in a material environment—marrying, having children, working, having good and bad relationships. All the while we are caught up in thinking of ourselves as just flesh-and-blood mortals. God's man was never born into matter. He lives in perfect Mind, God, as God's own expression. Man can never leave Mind, his source—he emanates from it. Man's Mind doesn't begin in a brain, and neither does his Life begin with a heartbeat, even though that is how it seems.
Spiritual existence is eternal, self-perpetuating, complete. Nothing is unfinished or undone. Everything exists in perfection. There is no process. This is the nature of spiritual reality.
Everything the material sense of life claims for itself is temporal, moving from one stage to another—conception, generation, growth, maturity, decline. Everything it claims to make is subject to destruction and extinction. You and I, through our God-given spiritual senses, have the ability to discern the fraudulence of this mystification called material life, and to live life from a higher, spiritual basis.
When healing is needed, it isn't really matter that needs adjusting. It's thought that needs adjusting—that needs to yield up a misconception about God and man. Healing comes about through the activity of the Christ in human consciousness, dissolving the belief of separation from God by bringing a precious sense of the Father's tender love and a spiritualized view of life and substance.
A healing comes to mind that illustrates this and shows that matter is not a factor in spiritual healing. A young woman was struck by a car on her way home from work. The accident report was graphic, stating that she had been thrown more than thirty feet across the street and had landed with great force against the curbing, striking her eyes. The ambulance driver at first thought she was dead but found a glimmer of life and rushed her to the hospital. On the way, she regained consciousness and she heard him say, "Don't move, honey. We're fighting for your life."
She was an active student of Christian Science, and immediately the thought came to her, "Why, Life is God and everywhere present. I don't have to fight for Life." She later told the Christian Science practitioner who helped her that she had realized the seriousness of her condition from his remark and recognized that she must be receptive to the thoughts coming from God, her true and only Mind. She knew that God's thoughts were her life, and she did not allow herself simply to drift into unconsciousness again. She recognized these pure thoughts as evidence that she was linked to her Maker, her divine source, who was all-power.
When she arrived at the emergency room, a neurosurgeon was called, and she heard the doctor in charge make the statement that she had severed the optic nerve and would be blind. Again, she turned wholeheartedly to God, whom she knew to be Love, and who she knew would never let His child be cast into darkness. She held to the absolute truth of her spiritual identity as a complete idea in Mind. Within a short time, the doctors had taken an X-ray, and she heard them exclaim, "Dear God! The nerve is intact! She will see again!"
By this time her husband had arrived and had called a practitioner to pray for his wife. Together the couple declined medical treatment, and he arranged to have her moved to a Christian Science nursing facility. The doctors were adamantly opposed, fearing for her life. They diagnosed that she had a large schism in her skull; they were sure there was internal bleeding, concussion, and brain damage. It was their opinion that an immediate operation was necessary, and that she would die before morning without it. All her bodily symptoms pointed to this conclusion.
The young couple's faith in God's healing power far outweighed their concern about the doctors' verdict. The young woman had relied on Christian Science healing all her life, and she was firm that she wanted no other treatment.
As soon as she arrived at the nursing facility, she talked briefly to the practitioner, who said, "This healing is for the glory of God. We're going to see Christian Science heal!"
The practitioner then reached out with all her heart in prayer to feel the presence of the one true Mind. She first had to reject mentally the picture that was presenting itself to her—fear, internal injuries, loss of blood, death. This was what the carnal mind, or devil, was presenting. But Jesus had called the devil a liar and the father of lies. See John 8:44. So she knew she had Biblical authority for taking a radical position. Had God allowed this accident to occur? No! She knew God is Love and that man is Love's object, the child of His care. So she declared vehemently that she could not be mesmerized into believing the liar's false, material picture. She realized with confidence that all creation is held safely within the Mind that is God, and that each individual idea of God has the Mind that was in Christ Jesus.
Once she was willing to challenge the reality of the matter-based picture and to see it as only false, ignorant belief (which meant it could be changed), and as soon as she let her love for God outweigh her fear, the fear dissolved, and she felt her authority as a spiritual truth-knower, which is a good definition of a Christian Science practitioner.
She knew God to be All-in-all, the only Life and Mind, the only cause and creator. She consciously felt His love and tender presence. It came to her with spiritual clarity that God, divine Love, never cut man loose from Himself, as a human babe's cord is cut from its mother, but that He remains man's very Life and Mind. She prayed authoritatively to establish the spiritual facts, and this annihilated the distressing thought-pictures which clamored that man was a mortal, subject to sudden extinction. About 2 a.m. she fell asleep, still reaching beyond the vivid material scene to realize what God knows as unchanging truth.
At 5 a.m. she woke suddenly, and the full realization came. It was more of the coming of Christ, correcting the errors of belief which can seem so entrenched. It spoke to her clearly and with authority: "Matter isn't a factor; Jenny isn't dreaming this dream. It's no part of God's man." It was Truth, God, speaking to the human consciousness. Because it was Truth, it made nothing of the lie. She knew with certainty that God's man was not involved and that Jenny's only real and conscious being was in pure Mind as God's reflection. She felt the conviction and realization that ensure healing.
By morning, things were better, and they continued to work together metaphysically, sharing their understanding of God and His love. Each day the practitioner prayed until she could clearly see man in all his perfection—one with his Father, Mind—and the carnal mind pictures as simply the mirage of error. On the third day, Jenny's sight returned, and on the fifth day she left the nursing facility on her own two feet, perfectly healed. The head had closed naturally and without stitches. Her hair was already a half inch long where it had been cut away. Her sight was perfect, and all marks had faded. The following Thursday, ten days after the accident, was Thanksgiving, and she gave her testimony of the healing at a Thanksgiving church service. She had no aftereffects, which proves that matter isn't a factor in the healing work. Christian Science healing sees beyond matter to behold man in Science, living right now under divine law—and this view heals. As the Lord's Prayer promises, God's kingdom truly is come for all of us to enjoy.
So let's wake up to the higher meaning of being disciples of our dear Master, Christ Jesus. Let's reach beyond man-made theories to understand the mighty actuality of God and His idea, and the consequent nothingness of matter. Let's understand that man and the universe are going on in Him, pure Mind, right here and now. We have the God-given capacity to see beyond the long-established beliefs of mortal existence to the spiritual facts that pierce the mist, and to catch a glimpse, at least, that matter doesn't matter.
