Removing Illusions

THE workmen had just finished removing wallpaper, retexturing and painting our bathroom. That evening, however, when my husband examined the work, he noticed that in the upper-right-hand corner the paint on one wall looked streaked. He asked me to point this out to the workmen the next morning so they could repair or repaint this area.

I did this when they arrived, and they went to see what was needed. About fifteen minutes later, they called me into the room and showed me something quite astonishing. When they turned on the large round light bulbs that hung in a row above the mirror, the streaks appeared on the wall. With the lights off, the streaks disappeared. There was no need for repair, no need to repaint. The streaks were simply an illusion caused by how the shadows fell on the wall!

This reminded me of something I'd learned in my study of Christian Science: that God's child (you and me) is unflawed, untouched by limitation or mortality. The Bible, in the book of Genesis, tells of man's true identity, which is spiritual. One verse says specifically, "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (1:27).

This assures us that because God is Spirit, and we are His offspring, man, we are spiritual, not material. The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, says in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "As God is substance and man is the divine image and likeness, man should wish for, and in reality has, only the substance of good, the substance of Spirit, not matter" (p. 301). Understanding man's relation to God as our loving Father-Mother brings healing.

I have been seeking to live a more spiritually based life. I pray every day to be less selfish and to listen to God more. Each year I've been reading Science and Health from beginning to end. I love doing this because the book tells me about God and man and how to live according to His laws.

I've been finding that this consistent prayer removes illusions and brings healing even when I'm not specifically looking for healing. For example, one morning I realized after showering that a large mole I had had on my back for many years had simply fallen away, leaving smooth skin. I was surprised at first because I had not been praying to heal myself of the mole. Then I realized that the desire to grow spiritually, and the steps I had been taking to do so, left no room for this false, material growth. It wasn't part of my spiritual identity any more than those streaks had been part of the paint, so it had to fall away. I remembered a sentence from Science and Health that explained what was happening: "Consciousness constructs a better body when faith in matter has been conquered. Correct material belief by spiritual understanding, and Spirit will form you anew" (p. 425).

Spiritual man cannot be flawed. Physical problems are illusions that we are separated from God. This is impossible, for God is ever present. We are His cherished children. He created us in His image and likeness. God created us spiritually, and as we grow in our understanding of this fact, healing becomes a natural part of our life just as it was in Christ Jesus' life. Such healing is the natural outcome of our spiritual growth!

Healing through prayer is explored in more detail in a weekly magazine, the Christian Science Sentinel.

They should seek the Lord,

if haply they might feel

after him, and find him,

though he be not far

from every one of us:

for in him we live,

and move,

and have our being;

as certain also

of your own poets have said,

For we are also his offspring.

Acts 17:27, 28