Article February 3, 1951 Issue

GRATEFUL TESTIMONY

MARY S. JONES

"Let the redeemed of the Lord say so" (Ps. 107:2). These words of the Psalmist's are an imperative command for action. In the dictionary the theological definition of the word redeem is given as "to rescue and deliver from the bondage of sin and the penalties of God's violated law." Those who have experienced the healing power of Christian Science, whether physically, mentally, morally, or financially, are aroused to a clearer understanding that in the truth of being there has never existed bondage, for sin and its penalties are unknown to God, the only creator, and to man, made in His likeness. Let us therefore obey the Psalmist's command with humility, promptly expressing gratitude to God for this Science that operates for all.

In the Manual of The Mother Church (Art. VIII, Sect. 24) our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, under divine guidance arranged for the giving of testimonies at the Wednesday meetings and in the Christian Science periodicals. This By-Law, in addition to making provision for these testimonies, sets their tenor: "'Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's' (St. Paul). Testimony in regard to the healing of the sick is highly important. More than a mere rehearsal of blessings, it scales the pinnacle of praise and illustrates the demonstration of Christ, 'who healeth all thy diseases' (Psalm 103:3)." As earnest students of Christian Science, let us not allow error with its seeming legion of whisperings to deprive us of the joyous duty and privilege of sharing with others the healings we have experienced in overcoming fear, distress, disease, and wrong thinking.

In her Communion address given in June, 1899, Mrs. Eddy admonished her listeners as follows: "Watch, and pray daily that evil suggestions, in whatever guise, take no root in your thought nor bear fruit. Ofttimes examine yourselves, and see if there be found anywhere a deterrent of Truth and Love, and 'hold fast that which is good'" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, pp. 128, 129). This vibrant call to be spiritually up and doing is in striking contrast to the oft-accepted human whisperings of mortal mind, such as fear, procrastination, self-consciousness, and lack of experience, which would keep us apathetically in our seats at our Wednesday meetings. Perhaps mortal mind whispers that our demonstrations, because of their simplicity, are not worth telling. No healing brought about by the spiritual understanding of Christian Science is too simple to relate. Indeed, humility is a spiritual quality and is prerequisite not only to solving a problem, but also to testifying to its solution.

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