A couple of years ago, I heard a 20-something Christian Scientist say that since God was governing everyone at all times, then she knew that no matter what choices she made, no matter what she did in her life, she could never make a mistake.

Unfortunately, she is not the only church member voicing such an illogical conclusion.

“But wait” you might be thinking, “God is in control and His image and likeness, man, is always governed by Him!  What’s unfortunate and illogical about that?”

Well, yes, God is governing His creation at every moment—including the spiritual, perfect man.  However, the problem with the assertion that we therefore can never make a mistake is that it ignores the fact that we are required to be demonstrating this spiritual reality in our daily lives—in our thoughts and actions.  To assume that we have a “free pass” is dangerously naïve at best.  It falls headlong into one of the traps of error by ignoring the scientifically Christian and biblical imperative to rely on God for our directions in life—to “Pray without ceasing.”  (First Thessalonians, Ch. 5)  It also relinquishes our duty to use our God-given spiritual senses and spiritual discernment to distinguish the false from the true—to separate the wheat from the chaff, to choose and follow the God-impelled path.

In short, it may sound pleasant, but it isn’t Christian Science.

Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Science and Health (p. 82):

In a world of sin and sensuality hastening to a greater development of power, it is wise earnestly to consider whether it is the human mind or the divine Mind which is influencing one.

If there is no mistake possible, then why would Mrs. Eddy make such an admonition?

Likewise, the line “Lest my footsteps stray” in the first stanza of her poem “Feed My Sheep” (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 397) turns the lie upon error’s assertion.

Shepherd, show me how to go

O’er the hillside steep,

How to gather, how to sow, —

How to feed Thy sheep;

I will listen for Thy voice, Lest my footsteps stray;

I will follow and rejoice All the rugged way.

Now, lest there be any confusion here, I recognize and have personally experienced the spiritual fact that once we learn the lesson needed after having made a mistake, the mistake ceases to have any effect on us—rendering it null and void.  But the mistake was nonetheless still a mistake!

So—is that all there is to the false logic of this “no mistake” theory?  Far from it!

This temptation—and it is nothing less than that—would also imply that since we could never be mistaken, we would have no need to immediately and vigorously oppose error in all its forms and guises—an assertion that is contrary to Mrs. Eddy’s teachings in her published writings.

And what would the purpose be of such a siren song?  To shipwreck us on the shoals of error by nullifying our essential responsibilities and effectiveness as healers through falsely claiming that there is no need to actively recognize, oppose, and then to destroy error through the awareness of the allness of God.

Yet, Mrs. Eddy wrote in Miscellaneous Writings (p. 37)

In proportion as we oppose the belief in material sense, in sickness, sin, and death, and recognize ourselves under the control of God, spiritual and immortal Mind, shall we go on to leave the animal for the spiritual, and learn the meaning of those words of Jesus, “Go ye into all the world . . . heal the sick.”

The serpentine call of error to ignore our Leader’s writings inevitably would lure us down the proverbial primrose path whose gate and way is wide and broad and “…leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in thereat.” (Christ Jesus, Matt. 7).

And that would really be a mistake!

While re-reading Laura E. Sargent’s reminiscences in We Knew Mary Baker Eddy: Expanded Edition, Vol. 1, I came across a striking passage in which Mrs. Eddy described how malicious animal magnetism would try to draw a Christian Scientist away from her writings and instructions—away from Christian Science—ultimately thwarting their spiritual progress and ability to heal, and all while making them think that they were being obedient and faithful.

Mrs. Eddy recounted how it was

… like a bird I once saw that was being charmed by a snake. This bird would circle around the serpent, and he could not be stopped doing thus till the snake was driven off. Then the bird flew into the air. That bird thought he was flying in the air wherever he desired to go, and until the serpent’s spell was broken, he was pleased with his flight and thought he had the liberty of a bird and freedom of wing. (p. 120)

From this and her published writings, it’s so clear that this issue was of paramount importance to her.  She advised and counseled all of her students—and that includes all of us who are applying Christian Science, to whatever degree, in our lives—to be alert to the tactics of the serpent—of the carnal mind, of error, of evil.  Remember, the bird thought that it was free even though it was being beguiled into operating under a wrongful and destructive influence.

More and more, I see the need to pray for alertness in my own life—to stay awake and to be aware of the wiles of error in order to metaphysically destroy them with the understanding of the Allness of God.  And I also see it in many of the dear ones who call me for help.  They have often inadvertently accepted the lies of mortal mind while thinking—and sometimes adamantly so—that they were being faithful Christian Scientists.  Even though they had not been getting the healings from their own work that they desired.  Even though they had drifted into unhealthy byways.  Even though they resisted any meaningful—or sometimes meager—change in their thinking.

And they have often mistakenly felt that reading the Bible Lesson, attending church services, and participating in church activities—as important as they are—was all that was required of them.

But as I’m learning, it is so much more than that.

It requires a deep and consecrated effort to understand our—and everyone’s—indestructible relationship to God and of His/Her omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and omni-activity.  It requires a willingness to confront and destroy the errors that would try to impose themselves upon our thought—often masquerading as our own thinking.   It requires an open heart and thought to do the will of God—to be willing to be what He has made us be and is causing us to be—healers not just for ourselves, but for others.

We need to use our God-given spiritual discernment and examine our thinking—to question what we are taking in and what our responses and reactions are—in order to navigate, through God’s direction, the mine field (or mortal mind field) that evil is continually setting before us.  Remember, one of the first sentences in Science and Health states:

The time for thinkers has come. (p. vii:13)

Do we actually believe that we can afford to be naïve and fall into the trap of thinking that some pleasant sounding aphorisms are going to get the job done?  Or, for example, that eastern or western “metaphysical” systems are similar to or the same as Christian Science just because they use terms like “love”, “peace”, “spiritual growth”, or “God”, etc.?  And that we can accept medical and psychological models as being parallels to the Science of Christianity?

We need to ask ourselves if the ideas or concepts that are coming to us—either externally or internally—actually can be found in Mrs. Eddy’s published works or not.  If it’s not there, then we can be sure it’s not Christian Science.

And in all of this, we need to be willing to metaphysically oppose error—in any of its guises—immediately.

Mary Baker Eddy wrote (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 177):

Never was there a more solemn and imperious call than God makes to us all, right here, for fervent devotion and an absolute consecration to the greatest and holiest of all causes. The hour is come. The great battle of Armageddon is upon us. The powers of evil are leagued together in secret conspiracy against the Lord and against His Christ, as expressed and operative in Christian Science. Large numbers, in desperate malice, are engaged day and night in organizing action against us. Their feeling and purpose are deadly, and they have sworn enmity against the lives of our standard-bearers.

What will you do about it? Will you be equally in earnest for the truth? Will you doff your lavender-kid zeal, and become real and consecrated warriors? Will you give yourselves wholly and irrevocably to the great work of establishing the truth, the gospel, and the Science which are necessary to the salvation of the world from error, sin, disease, and death? Answer at once and practically, and answer aright!

And Christ Jesus said (Matthew 26:41):

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation…

Let’s not be like the bird flying around ignorant of the danger—of the snake—that would attempt to ensnare us!

“Huh?  What’s a reno?” you may be asking.  Well, as Carolyn and I have learned from watching the cable network Home and Garden Television (HGTV), a “reno” is short for “renovation.”   A number of their shows deal with homeowners undertaking “renos” that totally transform their present or prospective dwellings.  The make-overs are often astounding.

In one of the programs—“The Property Brothers”—the twin stars (one a contractor, the other a realtor) show buyers properties that generally need serious work—work that regularly includes a complete gutting of much of the interior.  The hosts regularly ask their clients to look past the overwhelmingly discouraging appearances of those structures and to instead see the amazing possibilities of each.  It’s often very difficult for the buyers to do so, but their eventual willingness to proceed brings about results that are truly remarkable.

However, the “reno” in the title of this post is not referring to whether or not you’re undertaking a house remodeling.  No, I’m asking whether you’re doing a metaphysical renovation of your real house, your real dwelling place—your consciousness.

And just like those potential homeowners, are you willing to see the possibilities or are you getting stuck with the appearances?

Perhaps, you’re struggling with a physical problem, or maybe it’s a financial or relationship one.  Maybe you’ve been feeling guilty or not finding the spiritual progress you’d like in your life.  Or perhaps it’s a myriad of other issues.

But if we’re willing to look beyond and dig deeper than the appearances of a mental house in shambles—a house filled with fear, doubt, hopelessness, sickness, sin, and death—we’ll find the truth that heals, uplifts, regenerates, and reforms.  We’ll find that our true dwelling place is, as the Psalmist said:

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1)

It is in that secret place—the kingdom of heaven—where we have always, will always, and do presently reside.  We need to awaken to this fact and continue in it.  And that awakening and continuance takes watchfulness, prayerfulness, and perseverance.  Make no mistake; it’s not a one-time deal.  We may encounter unexpected impediments—some may even seem insurmountable.  None are.

The spiritual perseverance to break through the walls of error, to tear down the foundations of evil, to demolish the furnishings of pantheistic material thinking, and replace them with the stonework of Life, Truth, and Love—of God—yields a house that stands as a beacon.  A consciousness that radiates the Christ as we open our hearts to be willing to be healed and to heal our neighbors!

In Unity of Good (p. 6:4), Mrs. Eddy stated:

Sooner or later the whole human race will learn that, in proportion as the spotless selfhood of God is understood, human nature will be renovated, and man will receive a higher selfhood, derived from God, and the redemption of mortals from sin, sickness, and death be established on everlasting foundations.

Isn’t that the renovation we all want?

Tomorrow is Election Day in the United States.  Without a doubt, this has been a hotly contested campaign season in which both sides have heavily utilized negative campaign tactics—each declaring the other to be liars.  And yet, as of last night, poll figures indicated a virtual dead heat in the presidential race.

Clearly this election is on most Americans’ minds and is viewed by many as a defining moment for our country.  Everyone is weighing in—one way or the other. It would be euphemistic to say that passions are running high.

As I browsed Facebook yesterday, I once again saw postings from some of my Christian Science friends that were, to be frank, anything but Christian—hurling vitriol either against President Obama or Governor Romney.

Is this really where we want to be?  Is this really the posture to be taking?

Now, I’m in no way suggesting that one doesn’t evaluate the merits of each of the candidates’ positions on the variety of issues that confront our nation and vote accordingly.  But should we be adding our mental activity—which should be spiritually-minded—to the polarization that has engulfed our nation?  To the polarization of ideological positions that have paralyzed our Congress and political leaders from working together for the greater good?

When I was the Christian Science Committee on Publication for Massachusetts, I would occasionally get phone calls from some irate members of our church about one political issue or another.  Often they would be targeted against President Obama—especially during the national discussion of health care legislation.  I remember one caller downloading her hatred and racism against the president in an extremely agitated manner.  To say that I was vigorously praying as to what to say to defuse and uplift this individual’s thought would be an understatement!

Finally, I told her that I often wondered what it would be like to be the president seeking to make momentous and right decisions for the welfare of our country and the world, while being mentally malpracticed by so much of the population.  Under such a constant mental attack of hatred and wrongful influence, how could we expect him—or any president—to be able to clearly hear and discern the spiritual solutions that are needed?  The solutions that God is imparting to us all.

The caller became immediately quiet and the mesmerism that she was operating under—the animal magnetism that was the source of the hatred she had voiced—was stilled.

Most Christian Scientists know these following two quotes from Mary Baker Eddy:

I am asked, “What are your politics?” I have none, in reality, other than to help support a righteous government, to love God supremely, and my neighbor as myself. (Miscellany, p. 276)

and

Pray that the divine presence may still guide and bless our chief magistrate, those associated with his executive trust, and our national judiciary; give to our congress wisdom, and uphold our nation with the right arm of His righteousness. (Christian Science versus Pantheism, p. 14)

Sage counsel, to be sure, and ones that we simply can’t afford to ignore.  Ones that demand our continued spiritual alertness and vigilance—so easy is it to be drawn into the conflagration of mortal passions.

No matter who you’re planning to vote for tomorrow, we need to each first be casting a deeper vote—one which necessitates a primal question.  Are we electing to support the carnal mind’s activity of hatred and polarization in our consciousness or the divine government of God’s love?

I’m voting for God.  What about you?

This week’s Christian Science Bible Lesson tells of Jonah’s flight from God’s command to go and warn the people of Nineveh to repent or face their impending doom.   We’re probably all familiar with the first three chapters of Jonah’s story–his disobedience, the storm, the ship’s crew tossing him overboard, his being swallowed by a great fish and spending three days and nights in the belly of that beast, his cry to God followed by God’s mercy, and Jonah’s subsequent release and carrying out his mission.  The lessons are both clear and abundant re the necessity of obeying God’s commands as well as experiencing the blessings of repentance.

However, have we thought much about what transpires next in the Bible account of Jonah?  The populace of Nineveh repent and God spares them.  But is Jonah happy?  To the contrary, he’s ticked off.

Jonah 4:1-3 (New Living Translation):

This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry.  So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord?  That is why I ran away to Tarshish!  I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.  You are eager to turn back from destroying people.  Just kill me now, Lord!  I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”

So there it is.  Even though he knew what God would likely do, he would rather have seen that city and its inhabitants be wiped away, thereby justifying his own pride and attempting to compensate himself for the troubles he had undergone–troubles that he was entirely responsible for because of his own disobedience to God.  If this were a child we were talking about, we might say that Jonah had thrown a tantrum!

But God teaches the hard-headed Jonah another lesson–this time about mercy.

As I’ve thought about this, I’ve found it helpful to ask myself some probing questions—ones that we all might want to consider:

• How often do we expect our efforts in obeying God to result in a particular outcome rather than in the outcome God intends?
• How often are we falling into a Jonah-like frustration when things don’t go according to our concept?
• How often are we hoping that someone who has offended us be punished in some form—even if they have repented and reformed?
• How often are we recognizing that God’s saving grace and mercy are for all—especially during this political season?
• How often are we trying to justify ourselves rather than divinely know ourselves?

If we’re honest, perhaps more so than we’d like to admit.

But we have a choice.  We can either succumb to Jonah’s temptation and sit in a frustrated, self-pitying, and vindictive lump, or we can learn the lesson of truly obeying God by blessing others through our moment by moment active healing work—by correctly identifying them as God’s children.

I recommend the latter!

While sitting in a bakery the other day, I saw a flyer advertising a program to raise awareness of bullying.  It’s something that we need to be alert to and not tolerate given the tragic deaths of several teens over the past few years.

Yet there’s another kind of bullying that’s often overlooked.  It’s the type that takes place in our mental landscapes.  It’s the kind that often comes across as our own thinking.

It’s the suggestions of error—of evil—that would either attempt to intimidate us from spiritually progressing, or that would have us play the role of mentally bullying others by hating or resenting them.

If we buy into either—being bullied or becoming the bully—we are working against ourselves.  And ultimately the effect is one and the same—to keep us from being healed and from healing others.

Perhaps the bullying takes the form of doubt, frolicking about in the guise that we can’t or don’t deserve to be healed—that we’ve done something wrong and need to be punished, that we’re incapable of seeing the truth that would free us, or that we’re just not worthy to feel God’s love.  Or on the other side of the coin, we may feel wronged and want others to pay for what we perceive to be their transgressions.

But whatever the mode of aggressive bullying that’s trying to inhabit our consciousness, we don’t have to acquiesce to it.  We’re not victims or victimizers.  We’re nothing less than the expression—the reflection—of Almighty God!

And we’ve been given the spiritual authority and power—even the mandate—to refute, rebuke, and destroy bullying in whatever form it parades around in.

Mary Baker Eddy penned the following (Science and Health, p. 393):

Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man.

And the Apostle James wrote:

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

So go ahead and take up your God-endowed spiritual arms against the bullying suggestions of error.  Don’t stand for it a moment longer.  Send error scurrying to its native nothingness!

My wife and I were having lunch the other day with a friend of mine who asked me why more Christian Scientists are not more public in letting others know what Christian Science has done for them.  Very perceptive of her and a really good point!

This is an individual who has experienced firsthand the transformative effects of Christian Science and rightly feels that it should be widely known and available to all.  She found it astounding that this wonderful truth would appear to be kept under wraps.

I fully understand what she was talking about.  I’ve seen how some of my fellow Christian Scientists are afraid to go and do what Jesus and Mary Baker Eddy require us to do—preach the gospel and heal the sick.

Why the reluctance?  Sometimes it’s because of a fear of condemnation, of judgment, of perhaps even thinking that their standing in a community, or with friends, or their employment would be jeopardized.  And this fear is nothing short of a blatant imposition on their thinking which has no right to be there and certainly needs to be overcome.

And then there are other folks who are just happy to stay in their comfort zone.  They’re satisfied with their mental surroundings.  They feel happy within their family and neighborhood, or with their church family, for instance.

You might be thinking “What’s wrong with that?”  Well, certainly there’s nothing wrong with being happy.  But on the other hand, comfort zones are by their very nature a problem.  They induce in the individual a state of false security—of fraudulent contentment—whereby the person becomes satisfied by not going forward.  By not progressing spiritually.  They mistake the sense of comfort—of the familiar, of the ease, of the unthinking ritualistic repetition of activities—for movement.

Such a mental state can seduce the person—or even collectively a branch church—into actually thinking that “keeping things going” is the same as progressing, when in fact it is anything but that.  If we’re not moving forward, then we are actually moving backward as the strong currents of mortal thought eventually engulf us.

What’s the alternative?

The Comforter.  This all-encompassing mental state of spiritual reality impels us to move forward—to progress.  It causes us to divest ourselves of the old beliefs and ways of doing things.  It gives us a comfort that is deeply satisfying but never static.  It transforms and regenerates.

The Comforter changes our every perception.  It causes us to more fully love God and our neighbor.  It makes us better healers.

Mary Baker Eddy wrote (Science and Health, p. 55):

Truth’s immortal idea is sweeping down the centuries, gathering beneath its wings the sick and sinning. My weary hope tries to realize that happy day, when man shall recognize the Science of Christ and love his neighbor as himself, — when he shall realize God’s omnipotence and the healing power of the divine Love in what it has done and is doing for mankind. The promises will be fulfilled. The time for the reappearing of the divine healing is throughout all time; and whosoever layeth his earthly all on the altar of divine Science, drinketh of Christ’s cup now, and is endued with the spirit and power of Christian healing.

In the words of St. John: “He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.” This Comforter I understand to be Divine Science.

And this Comforter–which inevitably brings Christian healing—is the one and only infinite “zone” we need to be in!

Stones.  They’re solid, yet of different densities, come in a variety of sizes from the small that a child might skip across the water to the immense that were used for the construction of gigantic monuments such as the Great Pyramid.  They have been used for millennia as a basic building block in cultures throughout the world.

They have also been utilized as weapons of war that span the gamut of projectiles such as King David used to slay the Philistine giant, Goliath, to the missiles that were hurled by siege weapons against city walls.

And they were and, unfortunately, still are used by cultures as means of executing judgment against perceived law-breakers.

Jesus knew of and experienced many of these first-hand.  You’ll recall how his incensed countrymen tried to stone him, or to stone the woman caught in adultery.  Or how—referring to his body—he declared that he would rebuild the temple if every stone were cast down.  Or the great stone that was removed from his own sepulchre when he arose from the dead.

But it’s the stone which covered the grave where Jesus’ friend Lazarus had been buried that I’ve been thinking about recently (John 11:38-39).  In particular, the Master’s command to the onlookers just before he raised Lazarus from the grave.

Take ye away the stone. (John 11:38)

Jesus’ command was imperative and imbued with the authority of the Christ.  Remember, these people were mourners and had utterly and completely believed that Lazarus was stone-cold dead.  Yet the authority of that command resounded in their thought causing them to immediately remove this large object that blocked access to the burial cave where Lazarus lay.  They may have been perplexed, but they no doubt were also expecting to see something unusual take place.  Whether they thought that Jesus would be able to raise his friend or not, who can say? But their previous mental state had been jarred into obedience.

There are times when mortal mind needs to be startled in order for us to be awakened and obedient to the truth that sets us free.  Mary Baker Eddy related to a member of her household, Lida Fitzpatrick, about a case in which it was necessary to speak firmly to a girl whose doctors had declared was dying of a lung disease.  Mrs. Eddy said “The girl got up and was well; never even coughed again. …I speak sharply sometimes, but thought must move.” (Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer, Amplified Edition, p. 93)

Perhaps, you feel that you’re living in a cave of darkness with an obstruction that would prevent you from walking out into the light.  The situation may seem hopeless.  Maybe it’s a disease, or some claim of heredity.  Perhaps it’s a sense of an overwhelming limitation to your activities, your career, your relationships and emotions, or even in your sense of spiritual progress.  Or maybe it’s the sense of an inevitable decline that accompanies the thought of aging—a claim that has become so prevalent and expected in our society.

But there is hope!  Just as Jesus and Mrs. Eddy demonstrated, we each are endowed with the God-bestowed ability to break free—to heal ourselves and others.  Eddy wrote:

Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man. (Science and Health, p. 393)

It’s that rising in the strength of Spirit—knowing full-well that it’s not our own strength, but the strength of Almighty God and the authority of the Christ—that enables us to command the stone to be taken away—to move thought and awaken from the mortal dream of limitation into the ever-present light of Life.

We’ve all experienced grief in some form.  The loss of a loved one.  The loss of a job, of a home.  The loss of an opportunity.  The loss of …

Modern psychology and psychiatry asserts that there are necessary stages of grief that we must go through if we hope to ever come out the other side with a semblance of functionality.  And it is further asserted that some of these stages could be so severe—such as depression—that the individual needs extended therapy or even psychotropic drugs to just cope with the injurious effects.  This view has also permeated the media and institutions—these perspectives being promoted any time there is a tragic event at home or abroad.

And then there is also the popularly held belief that we never really get over the loss—the expectation being that we just manage to struggle forward in our lives with a permanent wound that tears at the fiber of our being whenever the anniversary or other associative elements trigger the recollection of the event.  This pronouncement avers that these images and pain will forever echo for the duration of our life and beyond.

But are these claims really true?  Are there actual stages of thought that we each must go through to just cope or to manage in order to progress?

Are these really universal laws that we are all bound to?

Or are these simply materially-based, empirical observations that the carnal or mortal mind insists are essential and which it costumes in the robes of rightness and nobility—suggesting that if we are to honor the individual or situation that is lost, we can do nothing other than grieve?

We need to honestly ask ourselves if grief really does demonstrate our love for another, or is it more a fear in a subtle form of selfishness.  Are the underlying questions/motives beneath grief instead: “What happens to me now?”  “What am I going to do?”  “How will I survive?”  “What if …?”

This I know: Grief is definitely not sent to us by our all-good and all-loving God, and we therefore can and need to challenge, refute, and be healed of its effects—effects that would attempt to capture and hold us prisoner.  Effects that would attempt to keep us from continuing to express divine Love’s freedom that is inherently ours as God’s image and likeness.

In my work as a Christian Science practitioner, and in my own life, I’ve seen far too many people whose lives have been bound in chains by the assertions of grief.  And I know from first-hand experience that this doesn’t have to be the case.  Indeed, we can be freed of these insidious effects without any dishonor to our loved ones.

When my second wife, Margaret, passed away it was, as you can imagine, a horrific shock.  I loved her deeply and still do.  She had been ill for a while, but we each expected her full recovery and return to our normal lives.  And then, I received a call from the care facility where she was recuperating that she was passing on.  I am extremely grateful that I was able to be with her at that moment.

Immediately afterward I felt this crippling emotional blow and this overwhelming sense of grief.

You might be thinking that my response was normal and natural.  And perhaps, to a degree, it was, but this doesn’t mean it was right.  I instantly felt the need to urgently pray about this because I knew from my study of Christian Science and subsequent spiritual understanding, and my own experience, that death was not a reality—that it could not terminate my wife’s or anyone’s existence since each and every one of us are the image and reflection of immortal Life, of God.  I was certain that my dear and precious Margaret was continuing on and was in truth untouched by this event.

The feeling of grief, though, was just so intensely palpable and tenacious.  Yet at the same time, it became absolutely clear to me that this wasn’t being generated from my own thinking.  It was instead an intrusion—an imposition, if you will—on my thought by the general consensus of the world’s thinking.

I should add this all occurred during the week before Christmas—a usually vibrant and joyous time, but one which was now moving towards a very different significance.  I enlisted the help of a Christian Science practitioner to support me in my prayers.  I felt impelled to quickly resume my work as well as make all of the necessary arrangements associated with someone’s passing.  The list was long.

On the third day—while still fighting off this onslaught of grief that was trying to engulf me—I suddenly saw what was for me the underlying “button” or fear that had triggered it all.  I wondered if I had done all that I could have possibly done to help her—to save her.  And immediately, on the heels of this, came the clear and uplifting spiritual realization that I had in fact—humanly and spiritually—done all that I could for her.

And with that, the cloud of grief instantly lifted and never returned.

Well—you might be thinking—“Good for you, but what of everyone else?”

As I contacted people that knew Margaret, or as they got in touch with me, a wonderful blessing happened for them, also.  Their conversations initially began in tears and deep grief, but when they heard, saw, and felt how sure I was about Margaret’s everlasting life, they immediately were lifted out of that state of thought.  Even the minister who had married us and called to console me told me that by the end of our phone conversation my words had instead removed the grief that he was feeling.

Shortly afterward, my life suddenly, and quite to my surprise, took a turn that I would never have expected—all as the result of deep and consecrated prayer to do whatever God wanted me to do with my life.  What was it?  The woman who would become my third wife, Carolyn, and I intersected.  I won’t go into details here, but if you’re interested, Carolyn and I wrote an article for the March 8, 2006 Christian Science Sentinel, “Turning to God led us to each other” which you can read on JSH-Online.  What I can tell you is that the ensuing 18-plus years, have been the best of my life!

Do I still think of Margaret?  Of course, but it’s always with a profound love and gratitude for her and the time we had together.

Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Science and Health (p. 386):

So, when our friends pass from our sight and we lament, that lamentation is needless and causeless. We shall perceive this to be true when we grow into the understanding of Life, and know that there is no death.

Friends, God is Life and is our life—not grief!

While checking out what my Facebook friends were posting today, one in particular piqued my interest.  As I clicked on a link that she was promoting, I was surprised to find what the content was.

Why?

Because it brought me to a New Thought site whose author had developed a multi-step system for spiritual growth.  As I read the post, I saw that superficially—and that’s all it was—particular turns of phrase appeared to be similar to some of the writings of Mary Baker Eddy—the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science.

But as I continued to read, it was clear that what this author/teacher/consultant was espousing was anything but Christian Science.  Mental red flags appeared everywhere!  And while perusing the rest of the site, I saw that many of her writings and books were about realizing one’s personal dreams and attaining wealth and prosperity.

This author may be a very fine person and earnestly doing what she feels will help improve her fellow human beings’ lives.

However, that’s not my point.  What I’m raising a concern about is what we as Christian Scientists are intentionally or otherwise giving credence to.

We need to ask ourselves some basic questions: What are we promoting?  What are we overtly or tacitly endorsing?  What are we accepting?

Are we carefully considering what other systems of thought such as New Thought, or New Age, or any of the various other “isms” are actually saying, or are we perhaps too eager to try to find parallels between them and Christian Science?

I learned shortly after encountering Christian Science for the first time, that many of the ideas that I had spent the previous 20 years studying and trying to live my life by—ideas that were based on western and eastern spiritualism, occultism, and what would today be referred to as New Age thought—and which initially sounded similar to Christian Science, were in fact quite divergent.  It was as if you were planning to launch two rockets, each destined to travel the solar system and beyond to the same destination, and one of the trajectories was off by a fraction of a degree.  As the rockets traveled, the distance between them would become greater and greater until eventually they would be light years apart.

The gulf between the Science of Christianity and these philosophies is far greater than that of Lazarus and Dives (Luke 16::20-31).  And we need to be alert to that gulf and not confuse ourselves or the public.  There are enough impositions—misperceptions—floating around and, worse, being believed about Christian Science and its founder, that we don’t need to be adding to them by contributing to the mental air of ambiguity, delusion, and mystification by being confused ourselves.

I’ve found that it’s essential to daily pray for spiritual discernment and understanding to be aware of that clear line that Mrs. Eddy referred to as:

FIRMAMENT.  Spiritual understanding; the scientific line of demarcation between Truth and error, between Spirit and so-called matter. (Science and Health, p. 586)

If we are to be the Christian healers that Jesus and Mary Baker Eddy expected us to be, we need to keep that line bright!