Article August 2, 1919 Issue

At "the ford Jabbok"

GEORGE H. COX

A war relief worker recently had proof of God's omnipotence in a base hospital, and with this proof came into thought the Biblical command, "What thou seest, write." This experience has been of great benefit to the Christian Scientist in unfolding to him something of the largeness of Mind's universe and a correspondent diminishing in his responsiveness to the claim of power in so-called medical law. This worker was called to the insane ward of a base hospital to visit a soldier who, soon after serum inoculations, was in a generally wrecked physical condition. A day or two after the first visit the soldier was taken from this ward to the one for nervous diseases. Here the doctor objected to the Scientist seeing the patient and did all he could to make it inconvenient for him to do so. For a week there was a hard struggle. The soldier was threatened with several operations, the time for each being decided upon for the day following each examination. Every time the patient was taken to the operating room the condition for which he was to be operated upon was found to have disappeared. The physicians used massaging with a supposedly dangerous medicine, and threatened other experiments. It was evident that better demonstration of Christian Science must be accomplished.

About this time the Relief worker was reading of Jacob's experience at the ford of the brook Jabbok, just before he met his brother Esau. Jacob either had to know the truth about brothers or meet with utter destruction. He wrestled all night with this, to him, vital question. We all know how kindly these brothers met. In trying to persuade his brother to accept the gifts he offered, Jacob made a remark which showed how completely he had overcome the sense of discord between him and Esau. "I have seen thy face," Jacob said, "as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me." That remark held the reader's attention. After carefully considering the situation the conclusion was reached that Jacob had seen the divine idea of brother (the only real brother there is) as the reflection of Principle,—"as though I had seen the face of God," he said. Then, as though his own blindness had been suddenly removed, the Scientist saw that he must see his brother man in the same way. Reasoning from the basis that creation is already perfect, this simple truth was realized: that neither doctor nor hospital had anything to do with healing, because there is no healing to be done in all of God's universe. In the first chapter of Genesis the truth of creation is told in these words: "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." Then what is the function of physician? was the question. Into the receptive thought came this joyful answer: To bear witness to that fact, "And it was so." It became equally evident also that the patient could not be influenced by so-called materia medica beliefs, for there are no such beliefs in all God's kingdom.

A miracle seemed to occur. The hospital was not visited by the worker until two days after this truth was realized. The soldier was decidedly improved. The massaging had been stopped; the whole ward had become better in health. This soldier and another, unknown to each, told the same thing, in substance as follows. The doctor, who before had disregarded the wishes of his patients, became gentle and considerate to all in his ward; he was less material in his methods; there was a marked improvement in the health of each soldier. The Relief worker never saw the doctor after that, but was told he was now concerned only about the welfare and progress of his patients and was evidently pleased as each showed improvement. The natural sequence was that the patients in this ward so gained in health that they were soon either returned to their army units or sent to the convalescent wards.

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