Me? Spiritual?
EARLY in my life Christian Science taught me this truth: ``Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual.''1 These are words of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. I loved the idea, and it helped me immensely. But one question had a way of stubbornly pushing forward: ``Me? Spiritual? How could that be, when here I am, sitting in a chair, in a three-dimensional room, at a certain point in space and time? Me? Spiritual?''
The answer to this came to me in an interesting way. When my dear father suddenly died, the realization burst upon me that the inert material body which was being mourned over (so unlike the lively image my father had presented) was actually not my father at all. I knew, without a doubt, that my father was still alive, conscious and active. I knew that his real being was an expression, or idea, of God, of the infinite, creative Mind. Viewed in the light of this divine reality, the physical body stood out as only a temporal, material concept of man's true identity, which is wholly incorporeal.
The conviction was taking root that my God-given selfhood is actually spiritual, the likeness of my Maker, and reflects His harmony and goodness. All the disruption and tragedy of material existence were entirely the result of mistaken, mortal thinking, not the work of God at all. More and more I could feel His ever-presence as our immortal Father-Mother, infinite Spirit, the Principle of har mony, a beneficent power always at hand to govern and bless every moment of our lives!
Christ Jesus, the Christian Way-shower, demonstrated this divine power in healing the sick and raising the dead, thereby proving man's indestructible relationship to God and his spiritual perfection as the likeness of his creator. As the Apostle Paul puts it, ``Ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.''2 ``Know ye not,'' he asked, ``that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?''3 When we wholeheartedly accept such truths and sincerely live in harmony with them, we today can experience whatever healing we need.
To illustrate: For a long time I was plagued with frequent, vicious headaches. I had to learn to see myself and others more clearly, not as mortals but as the spiritual offspring of God--whole, well, unburdened, and beautiful. Willfulness and self-centered pride--with all the pressure and anxiety these foster--had to be discarded as being no part of my spiritual selfhood. The demonstration of self-forgetfulness, forgiveness, love, and a reverent sense of inner quiet had to become a priority for me. Finally, one day, I realized the suffering was gone, and it has never returned.
Yes, we are, in truth, spiritual! Our essential substance is not matter but spiritual consciousness, reflecting the one infinite Mind in all spiritual dominion and blessedness. We are God's own children, and He loves and forever maintains His own. There is no limit to the good we can behold and enjoy! There is no limit to the good we can express for the benefit of all.
1Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 468. 2I Corinthians 3:9. 3I Corinthians 3:16. DAILY BIBLE VERSE Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
