There is a direct challenge in this week's Bible lesson. I have read the lesson several times already this week but just noticed this today. It comes from the gospel of Matthew. "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." That phrase 'take up his cross' resonated with me. What did the Master mean by that and how can I be obedient to that directive?
Each of us has times when we feel like we are dragging around a cross to be borne, some sense of a heavy burden we are dealing with. Or we might see some cross looming in our future, some unavoidable something that we are fearing or dreading. Some confrontation. Some physical condition that has appeared and now seems to be getting bigger, more evident, suggesting a name of some disease. It might be the world's thoughts about advancing age or diminishing funds. Whether it is a present situation that must be shouldered, weighing us down, or something we fear on the horizon, it seems to be our cross to bear. No one else can help.
What if we chose to 'kiss the cross', as Mrs. Eddy expresses it in hymn 253. She says we can 'wake to know a world more bright'. That cross certainly loomed for Jesus. He made his choice and that experience led to his resurrection and ascension. Isn't that what we all want? So what is required of us?
The cross indicates sacrifice. Is there something in your thought that you need to let go of, some wrong idea about God (I prayed about this but He didn't do anything), some wrong idea about yourself (I am somehow separated from divine Love, outside of Love's care and protection), some wrong idea about someone else (he or she is just impossible), some wrong idea about church (the services are so boring). It is our choice whether we shoulder this as a problem to be endured or take up the false idea and grow spiritually as we understand God's allness and goodness. God's law is the only law we are subject to. Mrs. Eddy tells us that "Truth is God's remedy for error of every sort".
Don't fear this cross. Embrace the opportunity to have it lift you up. Once you see the unreality of some illusion it can no longer fool you. All you see is what is really there. Good is the reality. Health is the reality. Abundance is the reality. Harmony is the reality.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Jesus and the blind man
Looking for something new in this familiar story, I found some helpful insights in a book by Trench, The Miracles of our Lord. Trench points out that the man was brought to Jesus by others, which might have meant his own faith was not strong. How often when we turn to the Christ for healing is our own doubt part of the challenge. Will God, or our understanding of Christian Science, be able to heal this?
This man was accustomed to being led by others. Jesus reaches out and takes him by the hand and leads him out of the town, away from the watchful eyes and beliefs of those who knew the man and the idly curious. Perhaps to help this man with his lack of faith Jesus used a simple remedy of that day to start things off. He used saliva and onionted the man's eyes. He also put his hands on him, as we might reach out to a friend in need or distress, a comforting touch. Then he asked him if he could see anything. At this point the man looks up. Metaphysically speaking, he begins to raise his level of thinking by looking upward to heaven. Physically he was raising his sight from the ground. He does see moving forms. If this man had been blind from birth he might not have known what people look like so it may be that this blindness was the result of some disease or accident. So Jesus repeats his actions by putting his hands on the man's eyes. The man's faith must have greatly increased, his expectations about this healing improved with this first evidence of returning sight. Jesus again instructs him to look up and now he finds his sight restored, another indication that it might have been somehow lost.
What this tells me is that we need to approach every healing with the understanding that the Christ can and will restore whatever appeared to be lost whether it was health, supply, employment, self respect, or peace. Just what are we expecting to happen when we pray or ask for Christian Science treatment? Let there not be a doubt or fear that God is not up to the occasion. He is. And so are we.
Jesus led that man away from those who were holding a false picture about him or the Christ. When the healing was complete he told him to go home but not to return to town, not to go back to the past. Let's not relive the lie but rejoice in what has been revealed as the truth.
If you choose to turn to the Christ for healing, if we call upon a practitioner to support us in prayer, we can expect to feel the healing touch of divine Love, the power of God's law of everpresent good operating on our behalf, removing any false belief and bringing the truth of our identity as God's perfect image and likeness. This improved understanding, this clearer perception about God and His child, becomes clear and we 'see' it. Healing follows.
This man was accustomed to being led by others. Jesus reaches out and takes him by the hand and leads him out of the town, away from the watchful eyes and beliefs of those who knew the man and the idly curious. Perhaps to help this man with his lack of faith Jesus used a simple remedy of that day to start things off. He used saliva and onionted the man's eyes. He also put his hands on him, as we might reach out to a friend in need or distress, a comforting touch. Then he asked him if he could see anything. At this point the man looks up. Metaphysically speaking, he begins to raise his level of thinking by looking upward to heaven. Physically he was raising his sight from the ground. He does see moving forms. If this man had been blind from birth he might not have known what people look like so it may be that this blindness was the result of some disease or accident. So Jesus repeats his actions by putting his hands on the man's eyes. The man's faith must have greatly increased, his expectations about this healing improved with this first evidence of returning sight. Jesus again instructs him to look up and now he finds his sight restored, another indication that it might have been somehow lost.
What this tells me is that we need to approach every healing with the understanding that the Christ can and will restore whatever appeared to be lost whether it was health, supply, employment, self respect, or peace. Just what are we expecting to happen when we pray or ask for Christian Science treatment? Let there not be a doubt or fear that God is not up to the occasion. He is. And so are we.
Jesus led that man away from those who were holding a false picture about him or the Christ. When the healing was complete he told him to go home but not to return to town, not to go back to the past. Let's not relive the lie but rejoice in what has been revealed as the truth.
If you choose to turn to the Christ for healing, if we call upon a practitioner to support us in prayer, we can expect to feel the healing touch of divine Love, the power of God's law of everpresent good operating on our behalf, removing any false belief and bringing the truth of our identity as God's perfect image and likeness. This improved understanding, this clearer perception about God and His child, becomes clear and we 'see' it. Healing follows.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
diviner concepts
This week's Bible lesson on Soul has been a good one for me. I especially have liked something from the second section. The Bible verse from John reflects Genesis One: "All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made." Mrs. Eddy illuminates this further where she writes of 'diviner conceptions' and 'the only true conception of being.'
For me, that 'means my prayers and my study are to help me understand this divine conception, what Divine Mind knows about me. I am an idea in divine Mind. That is where I originated. I am a concept of God. Only what God is knowing about me, that divine concept, is true. Nothing has been added to it, or taken from it, it has remained exactly as God conceived it. It is the only concept of me and I am most lovingly and wonderfully made. That is the only conception that ever took place.
That means there are no birth defects, no unpleasant or dangerous traits handed down from one generation to another, no poor genes. I do not have to look at my family and think that I will be stuck with a certain look or action. God is my Father and Mother. All that is true about me is His concept of me.
Wonderful.
For me, that 'means my prayers and my study are to help me understand this divine conception, what Divine Mind knows about me. I am an idea in divine Mind. That is where I originated. I am a concept of God. Only what God is knowing about me, that divine concept, is true. Nothing has been added to it, or taken from it, it has remained exactly as God conceived it. It is the only concept of me and I am most lovingly and wonderfully made. That is the only conception that ever took place.
That means there are no birth defects, no unpleasant or dangerous traits handed down from one generation to another, no poor genes. I do not have to look at my family and think that I will be stuck with a certain look or action. God is my Father and Mother. All that is true about me is His concept of me.
Wonderful.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Only reflections of good can come
This promise is found in Science and Health "From Love and from the light and harmony which are the abode of Spirit, only reflections of good can come." I have always read that to mean that because of the nature of divine Love and Spirit we, as the image and likeness of God, must only reflect good. That is all there is to reflect. We are the good reflection of the Original. Today I thought about it in a slightly different light.
Because God is divine Mind and we reflect that Mind (there is no other) then all we can know, all that can come to us, are good things. The things we reflect upon can only be good. Reflection in the sense of what we are thinking and believing. How comforting to know that we have the power and ability to counter any negative thinking, any false beliefs, any suggestions that something is present that God did not make.
A helpful thought to work with today. Only reflections of good can come.
Because God is divine Mind and we reflect that Mind (there is no other) then all we can know, all that can come to us, are good things. The things we reflect upon can only be good. Reflection in the sense of what we are thinking and believing. How comforting to know that we have the power and ability to counter any negative thinking, any false beliefs, any suggestions that something is present that God did not make.
A helpful thought to work with today. Only reflections of good can come.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Jesus' question: where have you laid him?
Studying a recent Bible Lesson on Life, I was brought up short by this question. Suddenly I saw it in a new light. Jesus didn't need to know where they had laid the body of his friend Lazarus. He may have wondered where they were holding Lazarus in thought. We know where Jesus held him, safe in the encircling arms of divine Love, perfectly well and whole with divine Life.
It made me question myself, when I see someone struggling with a physical problem, or a financial question, or an unhappy relationship....where I am putting that person? My first reaction should be to pattern the Master, and immediately lift that false belief, denying that any such thing could be true about God or His beloved creation. God is the only Cause and Creator and we are told in the Bible that He saw all that He had created and it was very good. God did not and does not create physical challenges. God, good, is the source of all supply, an undisturbed flowing out of His abundance. Mrs. Eddy says the divine Love always had met and always will meet every human need. Psalm 23 assures us we shall not be 'in want'. Since God, divine Love fills all space and is always expressing Himself, Love fills all space and is always expressing itself to us, through us, for us, as us. There are no gaps in Love. There are no misunderstandings or resentments or built up anger in divine Mind.
So that question was a reminder to watch my thinking when faced with some picture of illness or lack or loss or unhappiness. Where do I immediately place that person in my thought? With God. Healing is the inevitable result.
It made me question myself, when I see someone struggling with a physical problem, or a financial question, or an unhappy relationship....where I am putting that person? My first reaction should be to pattern the Master, and immediately lift that false belief, denying that any such thing could be true about God or His beloved creation. God is the only Cause and Creator and we are told in the Bible that He saw all that He had created and it was very good. God did not and does not create physical challenges. God, good, is the source of all supply, an undisturbed flowing out of His abundance. Mrs. Eddy says the divine Love always had met and always will meet every human need. Psalm 23 assures us we shall not be 'in want'. Since God, divine Love fills all space and is always expressing Himself, Love fills all space and is always expressing itself to us, through us, for us, as us. There are no gaps in Love. There are no misunderstandings or resentments or built up anger in divine Mind.
So that question was a reminder to watch my thinking when faced with some picture of illness or lack or loss or unhappiness. Where do I immediately place that person in my thought? With God. Healing is the inevitable result.
Monday, December 27, 2010
thought for 2011
Today my thoughts are turning to 2011. Inspired by something in this week's Christian Science Sentinel, I am asking my daughter to use her calligraphy skills to create a small sign. The sign will look something like this:
2011
A land flowing with milk and honey
or
A land filled with threatening giants
That is the question I will ask myself each morning. It will be a reminder to be watching for signs of the good that God has prepared for me that day. Am I seeing that good unfolding or am I feeling overwhelmed by some giant problem: a health challenge, a hefty bill that must be paid, an obligation that must be fulfilled, a poor relationship that must be corrected, a painful situation that must be soothed, something physical that must be healed.
In this week's Bible Lesson about God there is a paragraph from Science and Health that has always resonated with me. This is what I will use to deal with those 'giants' and the threat they are attempting to impose on my life. It begins: "When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea. Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought."
I love the word 'allow'. That means it is my option to choose what is abiding, taking up residence, in my thought about my life and situation. I can allow it to stay or I can reject and overcome that 'giant' imposition. That does not imply ignoring it or dismissing it without some change of thought on my part. My prayer will be to begin with God and His beautiful creation. To see that nothing else is present or has power. No 'giants' because God's creation has never changed. It remains at one with Him. As His idea, His beloved child, I have everything I need all the time and under all circumstances. God's plan for me is flowing with 'milk and honey'. That is an active flowing, never blocked or delayed or stopped.
I will post this sign on my desk and look at it every morning. I have also been praying about my spiritual study for 2011. In 2010 I studied Isaiah and his book in the Bible. It was a wonderful study and filled with inspiration that will be part of my prayerful work. I strongly encourage you to find something to inspire you in 2011 and something to study for your own spiritual growth.
May the Lord bless you and yours.
2011
A land flowing with milk and honey
or
A land filled with threatening giants
That is the question I will ask myself each morning. It will be a reminder to be watching for signs of the good that God has prepared for me that day. Am I seeing that good unfolding or am I feeling overwhelmed by some giant problem: a health challenge, a hefty bill that must be paid, an obligation that must be fulfilled, a poor relationship that must be corrected, a painful situation that must be soothed, something physical that must be healed.
In this week's Bible Lesson about God there is a paragraph from Science and Health that has always resonated with me. This is what I will use to deal with those 'giants' and the threat they are attempting to impose on my life. It begins: "When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea. Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought."
I love the word 'allow'. That means it is my option to choose what is abiding, taking up residence, in my thought about my life and situation. I can allow it to stay or I can reject and overcome that 'giant' imposition. That does not imply ignoring it or dismissing it without some change of thought on my part. My prayer will be to begin with God and His beautiful creation. To see that nothing else is present or has power. No 'giants' because God's creation has never changed. It remains at one with Him. As His idea, His beloved child, I have everything I need all the time and under all circumstances. God's plan for me is flowing with 'milk and honey'. That is an active flowing, never blocked or delayed or stopped.
I will post this sign on my desk and look at it every morning. I have also been praying about my spiritual study for 2011. In 2010 I studied Isaiah and his book in the Bible. It was a wonderful study and filled with inspiration that will be part of my prayerful work. I strongly encourage you to find something to inspire you in 2011 and something to study for your own spiritual growth.
May the Lord bless you and yours.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Can you 'leave your flock' and hurry to the manger?
What a question! It brought me up short as I read an article in this week's Christian Science Sentinel. We are know the images of the Nativity given in the Gospels. I could just imagine those faithful shepherds, keeping watch over their precious flock, staying alert for any danger in the darkness. Suddenly, there is an angel. A messenger from God with a startling message. These men would have been familiar with the prophecies in the Old Testament about the Messiah who was to come. They had been awaiting his arrival for centuries. Now they were being told that he had arrived that very night and was nearby! Those men got to hear the angels sing. And they left their flock and hurried to find the manger and see the baby.
Would you do the same? Can you set aside the flock of family members, business associates, neighbors? Can you put down all those catalogs filled with tempting gifts and leave all those emails unread? Can you change your focus from the flock of bills sitting on the desk unpaid? Can you put down the 'to-do' list that you haven't been able to check off? Can you let some of those errands wait?
Can you instead listen to the angels sing? Having heard their message, can you hurry, right now, to the manger scene? Can you take moments to dwell on what happened that holy night and see the Christ for yourself? Have you ever seen a newborn baby and marveled at the innocence and purity and promise of that life? Can you believe the son of God walked among us? Can you believe the Christ still comes to us now?
I believe. My Christmas wish for you is that you do the same. Hurry. God will care for your flock while you go see.
Merry Christmas.
Would you do the same? Can you set aside the flock of family members, business associates, neighbors? Can you put down all those catalogs filled with tempting gifts and leave all those emails unread? Can you change your focus from the flock of bills sitting on the desk unpaid? Can you put down the 'to-do' list that you haven't been able to check off? Can you let some of those errands wait?
Can you instead listen to the angels sing? Having heard their message, can you hurry, right now, to the manger scene? Can you take moments to dwell on what happened that holy night and see the Christ for yourself? Have you ever seen a newborn baby and marveled at the innocence and purity and promise of that life? Can you believe the son of God walked among us? Can you believe the Christ still comes to us now?
I believe. My Christmas wish for you is that you do the same. Hurry. God will care for your flock while you go see.
Merry Christmas.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)