Her prayer was based on knowing that with God as the only power, harmony is inevitable. In the increase of media stories of attacks on innocent people, and our own awareness of subtle everyday aggressions, I’m reminded that this practitioner’s daily, watchful prayer reversed and defused fear. And the Christian Science practitioner finished her walk, with her purse, as she did every day: unharmed, undisturbed, and confident that both she and all were the protected and loved children of Love. The aggression and the potential theft were thwarted. And when the other young man snuck up in his car as planned, the would-be purse-snatcher simply got back in the car empty-handed, to the amazement of his friend, and they drove off. And this must have stirred something in him, as his motive to frighten and steal disappeared.īack to the story: At last, the man’s grip on the purse dropped. The practitioner understood this Science of being and could thoroughly dismiss the argument that this man could have a tendency for crime, while lovingly perceiving the spiritual innocence of the man of God’s creating. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, brings out vital points about the Science of being in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, such as: “The Science of being unveils the errors of sense, and spiritual perception, aided by Science, reaches Truth. This proved for us all that we, too, are subject only to the higher law of God, not subject to material laws of limitation that breed fear or hatred. He knew his inseverable relation to God, which in turn gave him authority over all fear and hatred, as well as disease, sin, and death. These didn’t originate with God and lacked any divine authority.Ĭhrist Jesus’ whole mission was to reveal that God and man are one, and this further explains the Science of being-that we are spiritual. God’s man could never be confined to fearful, reactive impulses. The practitioner must have also understood that fear-the basis of evil or discord-never had a moment to influence this man’s past or to deform character, leave scars, or cause self-destructive tendencies. As God is the only power and is constantly expressed through His creation, there is never a moment when God’s omnipotence is not being expressed. This assurance and directives given by Christ Jesus to “be not afraid” (for example, see Matthew 14:27) are based on the Science of being, which explains that there is only one power, and that is God, divine Love, and God’s love is constantly being expressed by each of us as God’s creation. “Perfect love casteth out fear” is written in First John 4:18. And this became her defense, because with no fear, the man had nothing to work with! With a consciousness so filled with the omnipotence of God’s love and the truth that man’s being is wholly good and spiritual, no fear could enter in. She knew this young man was good, made in God’s image and likeness, and she held on to that spiritual view of his goodness and would not let it go. The practitioner’s heart was full with the conviction of God’s love. “You are the child of God, and you cannot be made to do this thing.” Startled, the man denied both things and reacted: “I’m not the child of God, and I can take your purse.” So the animated exchange began. When she felt a sharp tug at her purse, the practitioner immediately held on to it and turned and looked into the young man’s eyes. The magnitude of God’s love fills every aspect of being, dissolving fear and dismantling its actions, just as darkness yields to light. One would run past the woman and grab her purse, while the other would drive by, pick up his accomplice, and speed away. One day, this practitioner was taking her regular walk through her neighborhood, known for its high crime rate. It demonstrated something we could all experience: how an understanding of God’s omnipotence and omnipresence can give us dominion over fear, evil, and hatred and how this heals us, protects us, and allows us to live our lives more peacefully and fully. But it was just recently, when I became aware of a build-up of stories of attacks on innocent people and more subtle forms of everyday aggression, that I saw this simple story in a different light. The Christian Science practitioner told this account to a group of us from church years ago, and at first, it sounded inspiring and a bit amusing to me. This wasn’t willful stubbornness, but spiritual conviction. All the while he was trying to snatch her purse, and she-an elderly Christian Science practitioner and grandmother-was not giving an inch. The woman was telling the man that he was a child of God and could not act dishonestly, and he was disagreeing. It may have looked like a confrontation, but in many ways it was really a theological test. This animated interaction went on for a while.
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