"Wilt thou be made whole?" Early in his ministry this question was addressed by Christ Jesus to one of a multitude of ailing folks at Jerusalem. In the Bible, John relates the account in these words (5:2-9, 14):

"There is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him. Wilt thou be made whole?

"The impotent man answered him. Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

"Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

"And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked.... Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

"Why," one might ask, "did Jesus single out this specific ailing individual? Why did he ask him and not others, 'Wilt thou be made whole?'" Did he, perhaps, recognize that this man, although looking for relief through a material remedy, was actually ready and willing to turn to God for healing?

It is obvious that the man knew little or nothing about the Christliness which Jesus proved is God's remedy for all discord and disease. The impotent man had a great craving to regain a healthy body. The only means left to him after all his years of suffering was, he thought, bathing in the pool of Bethesda. But, he complained, he had no man to lift him in at the right moment. At this point Jesus presented the ever-present, perfect, spiritual remedy to him. The man was, it would appear, in a fit mood to receive it.

Jesus did not say much to the man when he healed him, and, of course, he did not use or recommend any material remedy. In the more than thirty individual cases of healing set forth in the four Gospels, Jesus seldom said much to the one he was healing. His clear understanding of the power and perfection of God and of the spiritual perfection and wholeness of God's image and likeness—man—was sufficient to destroy the most serious malady. In this specific case the recognition of God's gracious might, without the display of any personal force, accepted by the impotent man, cast out of his thinking the impediment which had disabled his body. He was thereby restored to usefulness.

At the time of the healing, Jesus did not confront the man with the cause of his disability. Later, however, when the Master found him in the temple, he admonished him emphatically, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

Many earnest researchers today who are striving to alleviate suffering are reaching the conclusion that the thinking of a man has a direct effect on the functioning of his body. At an annual meeting of the American Medical Association two physicians reported on their studies at the New York Hospital—Cornell Medical Center. They declared that there is no basis for assuming that some diseases are psychosomatic while others are not.

Such findings by students of psychosomatic medicine are consistent with a declaration in Proverbs, where the author, speaking of a man says, "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he" (23:7). And Shakespeare put the same conclusion thus: "There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so."

In this present era a great religious writer and thinker, Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, points out in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 404), "Hatred, envy, dishonesty, fear, and so forth, make a man sick, and neither material medicine nor Mind can help him permanently, even in body, unless it makes him better mentally, and so delivers him from his destroyers."

It should be noted that Jesus not only recognized that wrong thinking affects directly one's health and happiness, but he understood and demonstrated the perfect remedy. He stated that remedy thus (John 8: 32): "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." One important truth which one must know and understand in gaining freedom from inharmony is implied in this demand given by Jesus in Matthew's Gospel (5:48): "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

The truth which healed the impotent man was a spiritual realization or recognition of the fact that God is eternal and perfect and that His creation, man, must of necessity reflect perfection. In a discussion of the Saviour's method of curing disease, Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health (pp. 476, 477): "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick."

The Christly method of healing does not call for the displacement of the disabling thought or mental attitude with another mortal concept or belief. Rather does it require the elimination of mortal, hateful, fearful thinking, and the establishment of spiritual, Godlike thinking in its place. This change of consciousness constitutes the activity of the Christ in our hearts.

We today can employ the methods presented to the world by Christ Jesus. We can gain a perfect view of God and man, because we all have the ability to understand good. The understanding of spiritual perfection requires reason, study, and thought, but it is a happy and joyous undertaking. One who craves a happier existence must pray and strive for more Christliness in his daily life. He must, for example, overcome hatred, resentment, and self-will by reflecting in thought and action the love which is from God. He must love God with his whole heart and love his neighbor as himself. His love must be spiritual, impersonal, and enduring.

One is not truly willing to be healed if he is unwilling to give up erroneous thinking, the fear, ignorance, or sin which caused the trouble. He must be receptive to that which is good and true. He must be willing to substitute spirituality for materiality, joy for sorrow, hope for discouragement, health for sickness, thoughts of eternal Life for belief in death. He must learn to live consistently with these words from Psalms 19: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer."

It is not just the repetition of a truthful statement that frees one from his troubles. It is the spiritual understanding of what the words mean that gives results—our willingness to understand God as perfect Spirit and man as His image and likeness, forever spiritual, forever complete, forever good.

A willingness to let the spirit of Truth, or Christliness, operate in our thinking is a necessary prerequisite to growth in Spirit and to the resultant healing. Jesus proved over and over again that the power of God destroys sin, disease, and death when the spirit of Truth is expressed. Today the same power is present to heal, to restore, to save, to harmonize. It is a promise of healing to all, immediately available to those who are receptive, to those who are willing to listen. It asks of all, without any restrictions, "Wilt thou be made whole?" Wilt thou accept the truth that thou art now in reality the perfect, spiritual child of God?

An acquaintance of mine in North Dakota answered the Christly call, "Wilt thou be made whole?" when he was injured in an automobile accident. He was carried unconscious to a hospital and X-rayed. When he regained consciousness the pictures were shown and explained to him. But let me quote his own words as given in his verified account:

"X-ray pictures shown to me indicated a crushed and telescoped condition in the lower part of the backbone. The attending physician wanted to place me in a rigid cast, from the shoulders to below the hips, in which I was to remain for at least six months. It was his diagnosis that after remaining in this cast for six months I might be able to walk by using artificial braces to carry the upper portion of the body. Having been interested in Christian Science for several years when this occurred, I decided that I would rely completely on God's healing power to meet this difficulty."

He got in touch with a Christian Science practitioner. He was moved to a hotel room where he had nursing care. On the ninth day after the accident he walked down and up the stairway of his hotel without any assistance. On the tenth day he was able to drive his car. He was completely healed and said, "I have never required or used any artificial support and have been free to move and be active for the past eighteen years." I visited him a few years ago. He walks perfectly and shows no evidence of ever having been injured.

Christian Science shows that the call, "Wilt thou be made whole?" is impersonal, impartial, universal. All who may be sitting beside the present-day pool of Bethesda, waiting for the waters of materiality to move in their behalf, are within the range of that query. Those who hear—those who are ready and willing, truly willing to put their trust in God—have in Him an unfailing friend. In answering the call and following the Master in the Way, they too may enjoy redemption and healing.

Perhaps one's need is not for healing but for harmony in the home, security in personal affairs, activity in business, or hope regarding personal or world affairs. The call to be Christly is likewise for such as these. It demands, "Wilt thou accept for thyself the true state of harmony, peace, wholeness, and perfection which are God's natural gifts of grace for all?"

While all may desire health and harmony, there is often a reluctance or a fear to seek God's aid exclusively. But those who have done so testify to release from unhappiness, insecurity, sorrow, sin, disease.

Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health (pp. 323, 324): "Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea. Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear,—this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony."

The method of employing prayer, or spiritualization of thought, for human happiness is spoken of throughout the Bible for all to read and understand. To utilize it is simple; but in order to do so, one must be willing to acknowledge the Christ-spirit as the healing, redeeming presence in his life. He must abandon wrong thinking and let the spiritual truth become active in his daily affairs.

A gardener who clears the weeds from his plot of ground and turns the soil has taken a necessary step toward an ultimate crop. But before he can enjoy the fruits of his labor, he must plant the seed. Likewise, in achieving the fruits of his right desires in daily life, one must first clear from his thinking that which would interfere with the planting, that is, the fear, the ignorance, and the sin. But in addition, and even while the false beliefs are being eliminated, he must plant in thought the spiritual truths of God and man. He must concede that God is almighty, all-presence, all-knowing, and that God does not share His omnipotence with any other cause or presence.

May all today, even though they are sitting hopefully beside the pool of materiality, turn to God with open hearts, and when they hear the perpetual call, "Wilt thou be made whole?" let them reply to that query with a resounding, "Yes!"