Words and Works

PEOPLE are known for what they do. They're identified by the way they act, not just by what they say. Famous athletes are known for how well they play their game. Humanitarians are rewarded for their efforts to help others. On the other hand, authors and great orators are generally remembered for their words, not their acts. There's one person, however, who is especially known both for his words and his works. It's Christ Jesus.

Christ Jesus proved his profound words with his healing works. One of Jesus' disciples is recorded as saying, ``Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works'' (James 2:18).

Proving one's faith with one's works takes a deep spiritual understanding gained through study and practice. It is following in the footsteps of the Master. And following in Jesus' footsteps leads us toward a better understanding of God, good, and of man in His image and likeness.

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, followed in Christ Jesus' footsteps. And her spiritual understanding enabled her to prove her words with her works.

Not long ago I was wanting to write something about her but was having difficulty in telling about her adequately. So, I opened up her autobiography, Retrospection and Introspection. Through my study, I realized that her discovery of Christian Science wasn't something that came with a bang. Rather, it was her whole life experience that led her to this discovery. It was her selflessness, her spiritual devotion, her continuous search for the one God.

I also realized that there was one thing that she had that got her through. It's available to all of us today. It was her Bible. She never left it alone. She learned from it. She searched it. She was healed by it. And she healed through what she learned from it.

It was because of her enlightened thoughts, based so much upon the teachings of the Bible and the God they reveal, that she came to discover the healing laws that Jesus employed--laws of health, harmony, goodness. After discovering these laws, she faced a choice that would change her life and the lives of others forever: she could either keep to herself what was revealed to her or she could share it with the world. Because of her sincere care for others she chose to share it.

Naturally, one of her first steps was to write down what she was learning from God as revealed through the Scriptures. Eventually, these early notes evolved into a book that has changed people's lives. It's called Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.

Because Mrs. Eddy's words were based on divine law, it was natural for her to prove them in works, by healing others with her newfound understanding. In her autobiography she tells of one such healing. She writes, ``At one time I was called to speak before the Lyceum Club, at Westerly, Rhode Island. On my arrival my hostess told me that her next-door neighbor was dying. . . .

``The physicians had given up the case and retired. I had stood by her side about fifteen minutes when the sick woman rose from her bed, dressed herself, and was well'' (p. 40).

Indeed, Mrs. Eddy not only followed in the footsteps of Christ Jesus herself, but, through Science and Health, she explains how anyone can learn to demonstrate the spiritual laws Christ Jesus understood.

It's natural to want to turn to a book whose words have proved effective in so many lives. It's natural to want to know more about a teaching that's based upon the effective words and works of Christ Jesus. It's natural to want to curl up with the Scriptures, along with Science and Health, and read and study them to learn more of God's love for you. And it's natural, through this study, to be healed of difficulties you're facing. Many people have experienced such healing. You, too, can learn how to follow the master Christian better in this way.

BIBLE VERSE These words are true and faithful.

Revelation 21:5