
Some things aren't what our physical senses tell us they are. For example, the earth isn't flat and the ocean doesn't, as sailors once thought, flow off the edge of the world at the horizon. But what about our physical health? Is it entirely controlled by matter and best maintained by material, medical practices?
With all the debate about access to modern health care going on, it sometimes surprises people to learn that my preferred form of health care is almost 2000 years old and freely accessible to anyone - Christian healing. By Christian healing, I am referring to healing through an understanding of God, as practiced by Jesus and his disciples. Jesus expected his followers to heal as well. He told them, "You shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free", "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also", and "These signs shall follow them that believe ... they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover".
Healing was an important part of the early Christian church. Although today, Christians of many denominations experience healing through their own prayers and the prayers of others, Christian healing is widely ignored or regarded as a supplement to medical care. This is largely because few understand how to consistently practice and achieve results through Christian healing.
In 1875, a New England woman,
Mary Baker Eddy, published a book,
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, that explained the Science of Christian healing. Throughout my life, I have turned to this Science, which Eddy named
Christian Science, to heal physical ills and injuries, as well as difficulties in my work and personal relationships. In my experience, Christian healing has met my needs reliably and effectively. You can read about a few of my healings by following the "Healing" label on the right side of this blog.
Here is one more example of how Christian healing met the needs of my family:
One day, my five-year old son developed a fever and spots appeared on his body. We took him to a
Christian Science nurse in our community who gave us practical advice on how to care for our son and advised us to report his situation to the county health department.
The woman I reached by telephone at the county health department asked a number of questions about my son's symptoms. She said that this was a sickness going around in the community and that there was really nothing to do about it other than to keep my son away from other children and let it run it's course. She described to me all the physical symptoms and discomfort I would witness in my son over the next several days and asked me to call her back in three days to let her know how he was doing.
After concluding my telephone call with the county health department, I called a
Christian Science practitioner who agreed to pray for my son. My wife and I also prayed as we had learned from our study of
Eddy's book. Our prayers were not helpless pleadings for God to heal my son, but conscientious, heartfelt affirmations of the truth about God and His creation, man, as proclaimed by the Bible and explained in
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Among other truths, the Bible tells us that God made man in His image, that God gave man dominion over all the earth, that God loves us, and that now are we the sons of God.
After about an hour of consecrated prayer, I felt calm and confident in God's presence and care. Shortly, the fever left my son and he began playing normally. The next day the spots that had been all over his body faded and disappeared. He was his normal, happy self!
After three days, as directed, I called and spoke with the woman at the county health department. She asked if various, specific symptoms had appeared since our previous conversation. I told her "No", and explained how the fever had left and the spots had disappeared. There was a long silence on the phone. Then she replied, "I guess it wasn't what I thought it was."
Whether or not the illness was what she thought it was, or whether disease in general is what medical science thinks it is, the cure, Christian healing, is something we should all know more about. I continue to explore this method of health care, which, although revealed long ago, continues to be an idea far in advance of the thinking of our times. Christian healing is available for you to explore also. You don't have to wait for Congress to make it available to you!
Labels: Christian Science, Healing