At one point in my life I became seriously ill. I wanted to rely on Christian Science, as I had experienced many proofs of God’s healing power in my life. However, my closest friend and her parents, who observed the deterioration of my health, were very worried and urged me to see a doctor.
In order to allay the fear of my friends, who were not Christian Scientists, I went to the university hospital in my city and was directed to the oncology department. I underwent numerous tests, and several doctors were consulted to assess the results. They told me there was nothing they could do to help me, because there was no known medical treatment that could cure this disease. They said that only a miracle could save me and that I was going to die. They mentioned a specific name for the disease, a particular type of cancer.
Later, on one occasion, when visiting a bookstore, I was tempted to look up the name in a medical reference book I came across. When I turned to the page, what I read was horrifying. However, I heard a very loud voice saying, “No! This is not true! You are the image and likeness of God!” This is how the Bible describes God’s children in its first book, Genesis.
In order to experience the life that God created, which is “very good” (Genesis 1:31), I knew I had to “reverse the case. Stand porter at the door of thought,” as the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, explains in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures on page 392. She continues, “Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously.” However, by succumbing to the temptation to seek details about this illness, I had already admitted fear, devastation, and chaos into my thought. I had to throw these out of my thought by letting in divine Love, spiritual-mindedness, and purity.
The verdict that there was no medical treatment available made my friends accept my decision to rely entirely on Christian Science. I asked a Christian Science practitioner to pray with me. And I began to start reversing the devastating verdict by turning wholeheartedly to God.
During this period, the Lord’s Prayer with its spiritual interpretation by Mary Baker Eddy opened my eyes and took on new meaning for me—particularly this part about God: “Hallowed be Thy name. / Adorable One” (Science and Health, p. 16).
If God is the adorable One—the omnipotent and supreme—I cannot be impressed by any other name. I studied names for God, derived from the Bible and given in the Christian Science textbook: “Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence” (Science and Health, p. 587). I reasoned that if God is all substance, then there can be nothing, no thing, unlike Him that can claim to be substance, to have any existence, or to have any effect. If God is Life, then I fully reflect Life, as His idea. If God is Truth, I can attest to Truth as all-power. If God is Love, I am encircled by and filled with love. There is no space for fear. I felt God’s love for me, as His precious child. And all fear vanished.
I still continued to pray more deeply about the idea that God is the “adorable One,” however. The First Commandment in the Bible corresponds with this statement by saying we should have but one God, and no other gods (see Exodus 20:3). There is only one God, who is all-power, all-presence. Since God is all-power, I knew I could rely entirely on Him; I could honor God by adoring Him in this way.
In my spiritual studies and prayers I longed to better understand God and my relation to Him. The practitioner asked me to pray with “the scientific statement of being” given in the Christian Science textbook on page 468, which begins: “There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all.” I asked myself: What is true about my identity? God’s idea is pure and precious. Can there be anything that is so unlike God manifesting itself in me, and destroying my spiritual identity? If God is All-in-all, there is nothing that can exist outside His all-goodness—and I exist in His goodness.
The practitioner also directed me to study the chapter “Science of Being” in Science and Health. This thoughtful reading and study was joyful. I took particular comfort in this passage from the chapter: “The divine Principle of the First Commandment bases the Science of being, by which man demonstrates health, holiness, and life eternal” (p. 340).
What does that have to do with my experience? Because of the spiritual laws of the Science of being, I can experience and demonstrate “health, holiness, and life eternal.” I am not subject to physical laws. The great truth in the Science of being is that we are, we were, and we always shall be perfect, as the image, and the full reflection, of God—painless, pure, and whole. The material sciences cannot inform me of my being; through prayer and humble study of the chapter “Science of Being,” I deepened my spiritual understanding, and I found answers to the question, “What is my true being?” God is Life, and God is my life. Thus I express vitality, strength, and joy.
In about two weeks I was completely healed. This occurred more than 25 years ago, and the healing has been complete and permanent. I am so grateful for the Christian Science practitioner who prayed and rejoiced with me in this milestone healing.
The friend who had initial concerns that it was irresponsible not to seek medical help for such a serious condition witnessed this healing. Convinced that Christian Science does heal, she began to study Christian Science. Today she is a devoted Christian Scientist herself.
I am deeply grateful to Mary Baker Eddy for discovering the spiritual laws of Christianly scientific healing, and for giving us the Science of being in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Christian Science is reliable, effective, and available to everyone. Indeed, God is omnipotent—the adorable One.
Ursula B. Mueller
Princeton, New Jersey, US
