Article April 10, 1948 Issue

JOY IS HEALING

VIVIEN U. LYNCH

"Joy is self-sustained." We find this brief but meaningful statement on page 209 of "Miscellaneous Writings" by Mary Baker Eddy. Joy must be self-sustained because joy is a quality of God, Spirit. In his epistle to the Galatians (5:22) Paul placed joy second in the list of the fruits of the Spirit. Since joy is a quality of God, or Spirit, it is spiritual and eternal. Christian Science reveals that man, God's reflection, manifests, shows forth, what God is. Thus man, God's reflection, possesses joy as well as all the other qualities of divine Mind.

Since God is Spirit, the beautiful qualities of Spirit, such as honesty, purity, beauty, health, life, and love, are not dependent upon material circumstances, human conditions, or persons. It is logical that anything which is of God, good, cannot be dependent upon or subservient to materiality in any way. Honesty, which belongs to man as the reflection of God, cannot be lost or taken from him. Health, the effect of spiritual understanding, is not vested in or dependent upon the material body, but is the manifestation of spiritual wholeness and completeness. So true joy can never be taken from man, nor can he ever be deprived of its continuous blessing.

Joy is concomitant with healing. When Silas and Paul were confined in prison, they sang praises unto God, and suddenly the prison doors were opened. Singing praises to God brings joy, for praising God denotes confidence and faith in Him as the redeeming and saving power. One of the elements of joy is a high expectancy of good, which makes way for the manifestation of good in human experience. Thus joy brings healing.

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