People naturally ask, “Isn’t Christian Science meant for much more than physical healing?” It certainly is, and that “much more” has to do with truly finding God, the divine Principle of life.
Approaching life with the laws of divine Science results in rebirth and new views—not just for one inspired moment, but for every ongoing moment. Each thought and human condition is transformed when we treasure and nurture our newborn understanding of divine Love, God .
The opportunity to apply this Science beyond the ambit of our own personal concerns keeps us more awake to Christ’s invisible presence, and helps us deal better with the issues needing prayerful attention in our lives. When someone asks for prayer to find physical healing, the joy of this work is not just producing more smoothly functioning biology; it is seeing that individual as being free to do more good.
The desire for spiritual healing goes hand in hand with being active in good deeds, which is how we express God and experience more of His perfect nature.
Many of Jesus’ healings recorded in the Bible include a reference to the individual’s intention to lead a better life. They often expressed their desire to follow Jesus, which means doing the good works he did. Ultimately, the real point of healing is to live a life true to the Christ, Truth.
Christian Science follows Jesus’ teachings and doesn’t work up to, but starts from the divine premise that life is entirely spiritual. It doesn’t give any credence to life as a property of the heart, blood, lungs, brain, or matter. Spiritual life is understood from the outset to possess much more than physique could ever capture. As Mary Baker Eddy cogently observed, “. . . there is more life and immortality in one good motive and act, than in all the blood which ever flowed through mortal veins and simulated a corporeal sense of life” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 376).
Spiritual study and practice enlarges our sense of Spirit, of the meaning and power of divine Love, Truth, and the wonderful capacities of divine Life. It gives us an inspiration beyond the accepted limits of the status quo. With illuminating results, Christian Science prayer equips us to tackle the problems of the world. It expands our perception of goodness, especially of the good others do. Perhaps this is one of its greatest gifts—the ability to value others more because the Christ Science shines the brightest light of all on their goodness and enables us to magnify and multiply this spiritual gold.
