Sticking to the Truth

Ron was very glad to be a pupil in a Christian Science Sunday School. His class had memorized the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the Lord's Prayer from the Bible. The teacher had told the pupils how important it is for one to be letter-perfect in these and to stay with them until each one was sure of their meaning.

The Apostle Paul wrote (II Cor. 3:6 ). "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." This passage showed the children that it doesn't do any good just to repeat words like a parrot; it is necessary to know the definition of words and to strive for a spiritual understanding of them. Ron was very good at this kind of work.

One afternoon when he came home from school, he told his mother that his eyes, head, and stomach were all aching. Several children were absent from school with this same sickness, and now it seemed very real to Ron. Usually when lie had any inharmonious condition to overcome, he gained his freedom by reading the Bible and Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. But at this time he didn't feel like reading.

Ron's mother had just finished reading a wonderful article in a Christian Science Sentinel, and now she read it to Ron, hoping its healing message would help him to know the truth for himself. And as she prepared the evening meal, his mother also talked to him of God's love and healing power.

It was necessary for his parents to go out for the evening, and by the time they were ready to leave, Ron was feeling a lot better; but he was not entirely free—his head was still aching. Now he knew that to gain his freedom from any false belief, not only must he deny errors seeming reality but also lie must know that since God, good, is All-in-all, error cannot possibly be true. As Christ Jesus promised (John 8:32 ), "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." And as Mrs. Eddy tells us on page 447 of Science and Health, "The sick are not healed merely by declaring there is no sickness, but by knowing that there is none."

Ron decided to go to bed and repeat "the scientific statement of being," which is found on page 468 of Science and Health. He had memorized this beautiful statement, but he remembered that it wouldn't do much good to say it if he didn't also think about its meaning and realize the truth it contained.

Very slowly but emphatically he repeated the first three lines of this statement: "There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all." As he thought of the truth they contained, he asked himself, "So, how can my head hurt?"

He continued to work in this way with each line. By the time he had repeated the last three lines, "Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual," the sickness had vanished completely, and Ron was able to go peacefully to sleep.

When he wakened the next morning, he hurried to tell his mother how he had stayed with "the scientific statement of being" until he was completely free from the sickness that had seemed so real. Then he said, "That just proves that if you stick to the truth, everything works out."

Ron was referring to the passage in Science and Health where Mrs. Eddy says (p. 418 ): "Stick to the truth of being in contradistinction to the error that life, substance, or intelligence can be in matter. Plead with an honest conviction of truth and a clear perception of the unchanging, unerring, and certain effect of divine Science. Then, if your fidelity is half equal to the truth of your plea, you will heal the sick."

Ron went to school that morning feeling very grateful for the teachings of Christian Science. And on Sunday morning he was happy to tell his Sunday School teacher and classmates how he had proved for himself that it pays to stick to the truth.