In the practice of Christian Science, steady, spiritual progress and rapid healings can continue to come forth year after year as we look to God with spiritual insight and fresh conviction. It is this inspiration and conviction that enable us to meet any resistance to our efforts. The Way-shower, Jesus, was confronted with resistance; nevertheless, he pressed on, teaching by healing. Mary Baker Eddy persevered in her labors to present divine Science—the Comforter promised by Jesus See John 14:16 .—to humanity, in spite of the heavy resistance she encountered at times from the pulpit, medical profession, and press. In doing so, she discovered what resistance to Truth really is—impersonal evil, hatred of God and His messengers, which would attempt to halt the activity of Christ, which enlightens the world.
Any resistance we may encounter to our own spiritual efforts can be viewed as a clarion call to advance further in Christian discipleship. This was proved to me in a very eye-opening way. A few years ago I began to experience a painful condition in my left heel. I thought little about it until a month or so later, when the pain spread to my other heel and both ankles. I began walking slowly with a decided limp. My prayer was directed toward healing "my" painful physical condition; but it was to no avail, as the condition worsened.
In spite of this, I went forward with my daily activities in business and church without interruption. I resolved not to take time off to cater to this, or selfishly to give it any more importance.
As David ran toward Goliath without fear, I was aware that I must also fearlessly confront this lie and destroy it. But how? Well, I knew I must expand my prayer beyond simply addressing the physical pain. I asked God, "What am I not covering in my prayers?" I wondered what more I must do.
The answers came one by one. I resolved to let Truth root out the false belief, the misconception, that was holding back the healing. I knew the answer was present, because our Father is always present, imparting His healing message. In addition to my daily study of the Bible Lesson, I vowed to pray for The Mother Church and also for my branch Church of Christ, Scientist. I also resolved to read the Christian Science periodicals and to study the Manual of The Mother Church, especially the part called "Discipline."
Although the pain remained, the current spiritual messages in the periodicals from my brothers and sisters in Christ, along with my study of the Church Manual and other writings by Mary Baker Eddy, fortified my thought as it was expanding spiritually beyond the belief in a strictly physical world. Little by little this study pried open my consciousness to accept this fact: "Christian Science does not attempt to heal matter!" This Science actually reveals our true identity as totally spiritual, the image of our Father-Mother God, absolutely free of matter—and this understanding heals what appear to be material conditions.
The answers came one by one—from Truth.
A major breakthrough came one day when I was studying the Weekly Bible Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly. A citation from the twelfth chapter of Revelation was the answer I had been seeking in my prayers. It jumped out of the Bible like a loud crack of thunder. It was a precise description of what had been taking place. It said: "And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born." Rev. 12:3, 4.
The spiritual insight needed for healing in this case was coming to the front: This difficulty has not one thing to do with a material condition! I have no material disability; I never could have. God's image could never be diseased. Then what was the problem? It was "a great red dragon," totally false, but mesmeric in its claim to be able to destroy not just me but Christian Science! It was a symptom of evil's attempt to "devour," to make dormant or chase away, those who are equipped to prove God's healing laws for the benefit of everyone!
My eyes were opened to the resistance of materialism, of the carnal mind, to Mary Baker Eddy's discovery of the Science of Christ. This discovery presents the final revelation of Truth, and it is disseminated to the world through the Church of Christ, Scientist.
The "great red dragon," the hatred of Truth, is sometimes blatant. Other times it subtly parades in the guise of good, seeking to divert thought from total reliance on Spirit and to have us combine our trust in God with trust in matter. The metaphysical definition of Red Dragon in the Glossary of Science and Health is, "Error; fear; inflammation; sensuality; subtlety; animal magnetism; envy; revenge." Science and Health, p. 593. Elsewhere the book states: "The great red dragon symbolizes a lie,—the belief that substance, life, and intelligence can be material. This dragon stands for the sum total of human error. . . .
"The Revelator lifts the veil from this embodiment of all evil, and beholds its awful character; but he also sees the nothingness of evil and the allness of God. The Revelator sees that old serpent, whose name is devil or evil, holding untiring watch, that he may bite the heel of truth and seemingly impede the offspring of the spiritual idea, which is prolific in health, holiness, and immortality." Ibid., p. 563.
This red dragon would incessantly broadcast a lie to the world. It argues: "You are a mortal, a mere physical structure. I can take care of your health, wealth, leisure, and pain by material means without your having to commit to spiritual growth—if you agree not to exercise your God-given dominion. My physical methods require no moral awakening. Trust me, and sleep on. Focus on earthly things; you need only me."
Yes, I saw what was going on, and I stopped and laughed at this fictitious red dragon. I was no longer hypnotized into believing this lie of physics and disability, for I began to understand who I am—God's spiritual man, dwelling in the holy city of Life, Truth, and Love. I affirmed that I am here to destroy the dragons of mortality.
The effectiveness of prayer is undermined if we see any trial as a reality that we would somehow push aside, and believe that we are abiding in the suburbs of the holy city, still surrounded by a material world, merely trying to fix matter. This would imply that there are two kingdoms, an imperfect material kingdom and the perfect kingdom of Spirit, and that we are somewhere in between. The Master, Christ Jesus, told his disciples: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. . . . Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me." John 15:1, 4. As we follow the way that Jesus pointed out, we cannot turn back to the belief that a distorted view of someone was part of his or her mental home or identity. Correcting our thought immediately, we affirm anew the truth of everyone's perfect, jubilant, spiritual identity, thereby furthering our spiritual progress, and enabling us to benefit whatever or whoever our thoughts touch.
When I saw another person limping, I affirmed perfection as the only reality in God's kingdom. Instead of acknowledging pain when I walked, I proclaimed: "Thank you God, that I am well now! And you, red dragon, are nothing; you are not real, have never been real, and are now powerless!"
I began to understand who I really am.
In less than three weeks after this awakening, the healing was complete. I'm proving to a greater extent now my God-given capacity for fulfilling daily obligations. My spiritual activities are accelerating, and now I'm seeing "my" business more clearly as "God's" business, with wonderful signs following.
A primary pitfall to spiritual progress is the belief that preaching and demonstrating the gospel is a part-time hobby, and that we can now rest, sit back, and still receive healing on call. This reasoning would insinuate that we are no longer humble disciples but graduates, no longer needing to learn! But would we really be graduates—or dropouts? Jesus proved through his resurrection and ascension that he had "graduated" from all beliefs of materiality. But who of us has yet ascended? Healing through prayer can help us to better understand the concept of ascension, of rising above a material sense of life and expressing more of the dominion and power we naturally have as God's spiritual reflection.
You and I never truly have to wait for a healing in matter, for as children of God, we now live in Spirit at the point of perfection, and a perception of this truth through prayer results in concrete healing of material conditions. The truth found in "the scientific statement of being" is at the very heart of such prayer. The statement 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." Science and Health, p. 468.
Because "God is All-in-all," sin and sickness are lies, false beliefs that are unreal and powerless, nowhere to be found in heaven, harmony. Understanding this, we can confidently affirm, "Thank you, Father; I know I am Your perfect manifestation now!" Healing from this standpoint amplifies and fortifies our spiritual progress, and our spiritual progress, in turn, leads to healing.
I know. This happened to me.
