Healing and the Kingdom of God

SPIRITUAL healing is one of the things that offer concrete evidence of God's presence and power. Once when speaking of the source of his power to heal, Christ Jesus said, ``If I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.''1 Being confronted with the evidence that such healing provides tends to increase people's interest in the availability of God's power. The fact that people's interest in spiritual things is sometimes aroused by spiritual healing suggests that though the kingdom of heaven is already here, we have yet to awake to it in our individual lives. In such a case, someone may begin to realize that there's a spiritual presence beyond what the material senses can explain and that this spiritual presence brought healing.

But spiritual healing of itself won't necessarily cause someone to become more conscious of the presence of God and His kingdom. For that to happen the individual needs to understand something of how the healings happened, and why.

This understanding comes to us through the regenerative action of Christ, the spiritual idea of God. Today, as in Jesus' time, the power of Christ both heals and enlightens, revealing the kingdom of heaven as present reality. It shows that sickness and discords of every sort are not part of God's government or will and that they consequently haven't the reality they seem to have. As we understand this, we not only begin to comprehend the healings we've witnessed but we may start seeing healing in our own lives.

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes: ``If sickness is real, it belongs to immortality; if true, it is a part of Truth.... But if sickness and sin are illusions, the awakening from this mortal dream, or illusion, will bring us into health, holiness, and immortality. This awakening is the forever coming of Christ, the advanced appearing of Truth, which casts out error and heals the sick.''2

Understanding something of our true nature as God's spiritual image and likeness begins to lift our thought above the view of ourselves as material and subject to physical laws that can cause harm. And the more we yield to a growing understanding of God, the more we will see evidence of the healing power of Christ in our lives -- the more we will be awakening to the ever-presence of God's kingdom.

As our understanding deepens of the present reality of God's kingdom, it becomes normal to expect evidence of God's power. Because we know that we live under God's control, we're assured that the law that governs us is divine. The conviction that God's will for man is wholly good brings healing to every aspect of our lives.

This point became very clear to me on one occasion, and I was quickly healed of a physical ailment that had been going on for some months. On this occasion, healing occurred at the point when I felt close to God and had gained a clearer understanding of His wholly good nature and control.

Over many years of seeing and experiencing spiritual healing it has become increasingly apparent to me that prayer that rests on an understanding of God alleviates suffering Such comfort and healing is wholly in accord with Christ Jesus' promise that God's presence and power are immediately at hand.

1Luke 11:20. 2Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 230.