An old saying sometimes used when one is giving cold comfort to another who has brought trouble upon himself is, "You have made your bed, and now you must lie on it."

All experience takes place in consciousness. Of a man it is written in the Scriptures, "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he." ^{Prov. 23:7;}

A condition of thought, a false sense of things, has brought the sufferer where he is, and he needs to be awakened from it. This accounts for the situation of the man sick of the palsy. Christ Jesus indicated that the man's way of living had brought on his condition. Nevertheless, Jesus said to him, "Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house." ^{Matt. 9:6;}

Doesn't the man's immediate response suggest that his predicament had been primarily a state of thought externalized in experience? Conscious of the faith expressed by the sick man and his companions at the time of their approach, the Master had said to the man, "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee."

One can imagine the effect of this promise on the man's thought, coming, as it did, with all the authority of the Christ, Truth, as manifested by Jesus. his thought was thus prepared for release. These words of Mrs. Eddy in Science and health explain the healing: "The physical healing of Christian Science results now, as in Jesus' time, from the operation of divine Principle, before which sin and disease lose their reality in human consciousness and disappear as naturally and as necessarily as darkness gives place to light and sin to reformation." ^{Science and Health, Pref., p. xi;}

Christian Science, which takes its authority from the Bible, is present in our time to lift anyone from whatever bed of trouble he has made for himself.

The picture presented by the physical senses is untrue. A lone, helpless person lying on a bed of suffering is not man, made in God's likeness. The aggressive mental suggestion of discord and its visible manifestation are one, an illusion of false mentality named in Christian Science mortal mind. It is a belief in a mind and a power apart from God. Suffering has only the form and substance of the material thought that produces it. It does not exist in the truth of being.

The Psalmist writes: "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there." ^{Ps. 139:7, 8;}

We cannot ever be out of the presence of Spirit, God, the presence of good. Why? Because, as divine Mind and idea, God and man are inseparable. Under the heading "Scientific Translation of Immortal Mind" in Science and Health Mrs. Eddy defines God, man, and idea in these words:
God: Divine Principle, Life, Truth, Love, Soul, Spirit, Mind.
"Man: God's spiritual idea, individual, perfect, eternal.
"Idea: An image in Mind; the immediate object of understanding—Webster." ^{Science and Health, p. 115;}

The student of Christian Science learns of the all-inclusive nature of God and of the unbreakable relationship that exists between God and man, between Principle and its idea. As "the immediate object of understanding," the real, spiritual man is at one with God. There is no intervening medium. Thus the student learns that he too can take up his bed—uplift himself from his own false sense of things—and live. He recognizes, and must face up to, his responsibilities to reflect the perfection of divine sonship in every aspect of his life. Within these terms he finds both place and purpose. His salvation must be worked out in the life-practice of Christian Science.

Science and Health states, "The Divine Being must be reflected by man,—else man is not the image and likeness of the patient, tender, and true, the One 'altogether lovely;' but to understand God is the work of eternity, and demands absolute consecration of thought, energy, and desire." ^{p. 3 .}

This must be the student's goal, here and now. He has inherited all good from his Father-Mother God. God's goodness and intelligence must find expression in all that he says and does.

Christ Jesus perfectly reflected God. His mission was to show us the way out of the false sense of being. He brought spiritual healing to all mankind to show us the way of salvation through repentance and reformation. Such, too, was Mrs. Eddy's purpose in founding the Church of Christ, Scientist. As in Jesus' time, so in our day, Christian Science is saying to all who approach with the faith of the one sick of the palsy, "Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house."

Of two things the student may be certain. First, his purpose in life is to reflect all the spiritual qualities of divine Mind, of Life, Truth, and Love. Secondly, he has the faculties to fulfill that purpose. These spiritual facts call upon him to make a much deeper evaluation of his abilities and talents. If he sets to work, he will find the thrill of self-discovery and the joy of self-knowledge. He will use the faculty of spiritual understanding to discern something of what God has already perfectly made. Instead of listening to the aggressive mental suggestion of mortal mind, he will listen for divine Mind's direction. he will be enabled to touch the hem of Truth's garment, feel the power and presence of divine Love, and catch the fragrance of Soul in a life devoted to the service of God.

No longer in bondage to a finite, personal sense of himself and others, no longer believing himself to be separated from all that is good, the student of Christian Science will find that he can fulfill his purpose, that he can indeed take up his bed and live.