Polka-dotted or pure?

When I was young I used to worry about my 'polka-dotted' heart. The religion our family practiced was not Christian Science. It was explained to me once that our sins are like black polka-dots marking our heart. We needed to confess those sins, recite prayers of contrition, recieve the host, and our 'polka-dots' would be erased. So I went to confession every few weeks but worried about what would happen if I died suddenly, went to heaven and God saw those dots. Or if someone I loved died with those 'dots' on their hearts. We were never counseled about the sins that caused those 'dots' in the first place. The slate was wiped clean and we began again.

In this week's Bible Lesson we read Psalms 51:10. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."  Reading that reminded me of the childhood belief in an unclean heart. Now I would work with that verse very differently in the light of what I am learning about Christian Science. In God's eyes, my heart is perfectly clean, without blemish or stain. I have never sinned. I am and always will be His child, made in His own image and likeness. I would pray to see that the first part of that Psalm declares my purity and the second part is what I need to do to understand that. A right spirit. A right understanding of who and what I am. Just think how the world would change if everyone prayed along these lines. No more heart disease! No one would be be 'heart sick' about anything.

In the same section of the Lesson is one of the Beatitudes Jesus shared during the Sermon on the Mount. "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God". (Matt 5:8)  I just love this one. Putting it together with that verse from Psalms strengthens the healing effect. When I pray with this Beatitude I read it substituting each of the seven synonyms Mrs. Eddy gives us in her definitions of God. Principle. Mind. Soul. Spirit. Life. Truth. Love. As I do this, I begin to see how blessed we are when we 'see', understand, God this way and how it can affect our lives, our health, our work, our relationships, etc.

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see Prinicple. Principle is the law of ever present Good, always operating in our behalf. What protection.What a relief to be surrounded by honesty. Laws are enforced and God's law assures that we are surrounded by good, by the effect of goodness. All we can be aware of it good in ourselves and everyone else.

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see Mind. There is only one God so there is only one Mind doing all the knowing, all intelligence, perception, understanding. That is also my mind by reflection. Mind is never absent so I cannot be absent minded. Mind always knows so I cannot be forgetful or lose anything I have learned. Mind knows all things so I can reflect that wisdom.

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see Soul. Soul is the synonym that represents the true faculties of sight and hearing and feeling. Soul is joyous and fills me with a love for music and dancing. Soul is all about true beauty and grace. None of that can fade away or be disfunctional. We can have clear vision, sharp hearing and a wonderful compassion and gentleness as part of our  nature.

I continue on this way, working with each name for God, and the prayer becomes a treatment that brings healing for myself and others. What an empowering thing it is to recognize this purity of heart. Quite different from believing in 'polka-dots' that brand me as a sinner. I see myself and others as the pure and perfect and loving ideas of divine Mind. Such a feeling of peace and comfort.  I am also grateful to see something Mrs. Eddy wrote about purity included in this section. "We should strive to reach the Horeb height where God is revealed: and the corner stone of all spiritual building is purity." Pure without a single flaw or break or fracture or blemish. So rejoice today knowing you are not a polka-dotted child of God but pure and perfect. Delight in the law of good.