I was juggling work, care for a family member struggling with an illness, and typical household tasks – all while feeling ill myself. It was overwhelming and exhausting.
So I opened my copy of “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” – the textbook of Christian Science, written by Mary Baker Eddy, a follower of Christ Jesus – at random. I’d done this countless times in the past, and without fail, my eyes would fall on some passage that spoke powerfully to me in that moment, contributing to the needed healing or solution.
This time, I landed two-thirds of the way down on page 89 and read, “We are all capable of more than we do.”
I almost threw the book out the window.
The notion that I wasn’t doing enough, trying hard enough, felt like a slap in the face. And Science and Health, together with the Bible, had always been such a reliable source of inspiration! It felt like a betrayal.
But the thing about Science and Health is that it’s not simply a collection of words that we might find pleasant or not. It sheds light on the timeless, inspired Word of the Bible that redeems and heals. It elucidates the reality of being – the Science behind Jesus’ world-changing teachings and healing ministry. The ideas in Science and Health are transformative, because they have the eternally active power of Christ, Truth, behind them – awakening every receptive heart to our true nature as the spiritual and whole offspring of our entirely good creator, God, Spirit.
And there is no darkness – including sickness, anxiety, or self-justification – that the light of Christ can’t break through.
Over the next few hours I felt that light breaking through the mental clouds of outrage and self-justification. The grip of indignation loosened, and I found that not only was I able to think of that passage without taking offense, but I genuinely wanted to think about it more deeply.
With humble curiosity rather than pique leading the way, it hit me that this passage wasn’t a criticism of my efforts. In fact, it wasn’t labeling me as an ailing, failing mortal at all – it was pointing to everyone’s never-ending, God-given, God-upheld capacity for good!
As God’s children, His spiritual reflection, we’re not constrained by the limitations of what we can accomplish through willpower or adrenaline. God perpetually expresses His goodness in us and through us. We’re tirelessly sustained by God – by the energizing, strengthening, purifying divine Spirit.
Truths such as these flooded my thought as I opened my heart to Christ. I realized that we are all capable of health, because God has created us in His flawless spiritual image. We are capable of helping others, because we can never be drained of the relentless goodness that comes from God. We are capable of discerning our God-given ability, because Christ communicates it to each of us, always.
Right then and there, the stress and illness just … left. I felt physically and mentally renewed. And indeed, I was able to lovingly, thoughtfully, and patiently do everything that was needed. My family member’s health was restored shortly, too.
It’s been 150 years since Science and Health was first published on Oct. 30, 1875. When we’re willing to engage with the ideas in it, to “look deep into realism instead of accepting only the outward sense of things” (p. 129), to let our thoughts be uplifted to the spiritual reality of existence – we find that its message is just as relevant today.
Interested in exploring Science and Health yourself? You can access the full text or listen online for free, or purchase your own copy in various digital and print formats (and in 17 languages, plus Braille).
