The ‘perfect’ that heals
When I first walked into a Church of Christ, Scientist, I sensed an atmosphere of joyful dignity and togetherness. Since then, I’ve come to realize that this comes from something deeper than a group of happy people coming together, as lovely as that can be. It comes from a quiet acknowledgment of the “man” of God’s creating, a foundational concept in Christian Science.
Here I use the word “man” as the Bible sometimes uses it, which includes all of us. The Bible verse that best describes what I felt is this: “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace” (Psalms 37:37).
Something I learned that’s key to “marking,” or recognizing and honoring, the “perfect man” is seeing things through a spiritual lens. That is, looking at others from the standpoint of what we all are as the sons and daughters of divine Spirit, God. This is at first a choice we may consciously need to make, but then we find that it becomes quite natural. That’s because as God’s children, we all innately have spiritual sense. Willingness to accept this fact and look to spiritual sense in the way we view the world helps us move forward and progress in every realm of life.
What is spiritual sense? Mary Baker Eddy, who founded The Christian Science Monitor, explains, “Spiritual sense is a conscious, constant capacity to understand God” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 209). Those two words “conscious” and “constant” point to mental activity – a firm, steadfast faithfulness and a diligent, awakened perseverance, which enable us to know God as infinite good, Life, and Love.
Our capacity to understand divine Life, God, stems from the fact that God, good, is infinite and omnipotent, the only legitimate cause there is. God’s creation is spiritual, the expression and manifestation of the divine Spirit.
Each of us in our true nature, therefore, is not a personal creator but the creation, or effect, of the one infinite God. We cannot be separated from the Life that expresses, renews, and regenerates us.
Attending a Christian Science church has helped me see this more and more. It’s become more natural for me to know myself in this spiritual light and honor others just as Christ Jesus did – to see and to love the “perfect man.”
This doesn’t mean ignoring problems or saying that things are physically perfect. Certainly, there have been times when I’ve been confronted with illness and other difficulties. But the idea that God, infinite good, is the only legitimate cause and created each of us as spiritual and pure, kept me faithful in persevering – in actively turning to spiritual sense to inform my perspective on things. And with the clearer glimpses of spiritual reality this brought, healing and solutions came.
For instance, I’ve become much less fearful in general. And symptoms of asthma simply faded away, and haven’t returned. I’ve had other physical healings too, some that required more diligent prayer and study of the weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson. What I learned through this prayer and study helped me better know myself – my true, spiritual self. This brought with it a new sense of life, trust, and love for humanity that made me a better person in every way.
Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer, which begins and ends with God, acknowledging the power and presence of the Divine. In the middle is a request for “daily bread,” or a heart filled with grace, forgiveness, and love. As we more consistently let God’s standard of the “perfect man” inspire how we think and act, this heals and regenerates the heart, mind, and body.
We are all able to “mark” – to acknowledge, honor, uphold, and love – God’s “perfect man.” What could be more important than that today? Beholding the true, spiritual nature of ourselves and others opens doors to more lasting reconciliation, health, equality, and peace.
