The Recorded Discovery

IT had been a short but active business trip. And although I felt fine, I woke without my voice. Because I'm a Christian Scientist it's natural for me to turn to the Bible and the recorded discovery of Christian Science in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. Because Mrs. Eddy, the Founder of the Christian Science Church, has ordained these two books as the Church's pastor, any time I want an appointment with my pastor I can have it! This means that, no matter what I'm experi encing, I can open the Bible and Science and Health and find spiritual ideas that bring healing.

On this particular day I longed to get settled on the airplane so that I could quietly pray to God, using the Bible and Science and Health as my guides. Once aboard the plane I opened my copy of Science and Health to the exact message I needed to hear. It was this passage: ``What if the old dragon should send forth a new flood to drown the Christ-idea? He can neither drown your voice with its roar, nor again sink the world into the deep waters of chaos and old night. . . . The waters will be pacified, an d Christ will command the wave."

This comforted me because I saw once again that the power of God is omnipotent. I saw that the ever-present Christ, the true idea of God, is here to command the wave of renewal, of redemption. It wasn't long after this that I was completely healed and able to speak normally.

The truth that is written down and explained in Science and Health awakened me to a clearer spiritual understanding of the power and presence of God, good. Because God is all powerful, omnipotent, His presence precludes anything that purports to be a power opposite to Him. Lack of spiritual understanding can make evil seem real and powerful. But when we begin to understand the inseverable unity of God and man, we see how Truth can heal the discord, hatred, and fear that afflict mankind.

If we spiritually understand the omnipotence and utter goodness of God, we will feel the benefit of Truth, God, in our lives. Indeed, false concepts are the only things that can ever really be overthrown. They never did dwell in heaven--in the consciousness of God's presence--where man exists as God's perfect reflection. And once false beliefs are prayerfully thrown out of our thoughts they are expelled from our experience, also. This leaves Christ to command the wave of world thought, as well.

Spiritual understanding is gained by searching the Scriptures. Turning to the Bible's practical truths, and the explanations Science and Health gives of them, lifts our thought to a clearer recognition of God's power and goodness. Christ Jesus demonstrated God's power--and proved evil powerless--when he healed the sick and reformed the sinner. Because, for example, Jesus spiritually understood the devils that were supposed to afflict the Gadarene to be false concepts, to be evil, he commanded them ``Go."

And the Bible tells us in Matthew's Gospel, ``When they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters."

Jesus' life was the example to which Mrs. Eddy turned as she deeply searched the Scriptures and wrote down her discovery in Science and Health. You, too, can find the healing truths recorded in the Bible and elucidated in Science and Health.