"Charlie's lost another tooth," said the keeper at the open-air zoo in Florida. He sounded quite cheerful as he picked up a small, white object by the water's edge.

Charlie is a crocodile, and the keeper was not worried about the loss of the tooth because he knew that crocodiles quickly grow new ones. Similarly, a salamander will grow a new leg if it loses one, and a toucan will grow a new beak.

A question that perplexes human beings is, Why can't men and women grow a new limb, a new tooth, if one is needed? The answer is that it should be possible, and we would see more evidence of this renewal if people would open their thought to the possibility, instead of assuming that loss of any part of the body is final. Mrs. Eddy's words open up great possibilities: "When the unthinking lobster loses its claw, the claw grows again. If the Science of Life were understood, it would be found that the senses of Mind are never lost and that matter has no sensation. Then the human limb would be replaced as readily as the lobster's claw,—not with an artificial limb, but with the genuine one." ^{Science and Health, p. 489;}

In their search for understanding of the secrets of material life, biologists have recently been investigating the possibilities of bodily restoration in animals. They now report some success in promoting through electrical stimulation the growth and regeneration of frogs and rats so that they have grown whole new legs and arms. This has encouraged some doctors to predict that in a few years it will be possible for people to be medically treated in the same way for the growth of new limbs and organs.

It is interesting, though, that while these experiments have been going on with animals, two newborn human babies whose fingers were severed are known to have grown new ones without medical aid. This shows the human body to be naturally capable of regeneration—though Saturday Review also points to the centuries-old belief that the younger the creature, the more its body is able to renew itself. ^{See Saturday Review, July 8, 1978, pp. 8-11;} The implication might be that babies do not hinder the restoration of their own bodies through limited thought any more than "the unthinking lobster."

Yet we have biblical evidence that restoration of the body is a possibility for anyone, whatever his age, who is touched by the understanding of the Science of Life. When one of Christ Jesus' followers cut off with his sword the right ear of the high priest's servant, the Master "touched his ear, and healed him." ^{Luke 22:51;} And now, today, Christian Science assures us that as we cling to the understanding of the true facts of spiritual being taught by Jesus we will experience similar healings. When we know that the real man is eternally complete as God's perfect, spiritual son, not a physical frame to be dismembered, the mortal sense of loss, deprivation, or incompleteness will disappear—be replaced by the consciousness of man's spiritual completeness. This will be manifested in healing and, as our spiritual understanding grows, we will see limbs, organs—all parts of the body—perfectly renewed.

A boy of high-school age tells of a healing he had without medical help when he tangled his hand in a power lawn mower. One finger was seriously mashed, and to all appearances it seemed hopeless to think that the finger could ever recover.

However, this young man had been for many years a regular attendant in a Christian Science Sunday School, learning the facts of spiritual being in the Science of Life, so it was natural for him to expect healing. His mother and brother were on the spot immediately to give him support through prayer, and together they affirmed that there are no accidents in God's universe. They declared that everything is governed by the divine Mind, and since God is in control of the entire universe, and man made by Him, there could be no discord, no loss, no pain, and no separation from any good thing. The hand was washed and lightly covered with a bandage; otherwise no physical remedy was applied.

Pain and shock were overcome in a matter of hours, but prayer was vigorously continued for several days. It was clearly seen that man is the individual, complete expression of divine Love and could never lose any part of his identity.

In two days the bandage was no longer needed to hide a mutilated hand. The finger had reshaped and was perfectly restored. Before long the nail grew again, and, as he proudly displayed his hand, one could not tell that anything had ever happened to it.

Healings such as this show that understanding the law of God releases a dynamic healing power in human experience. This power can be relied upon now, as in Jesus' time, to correct or renew any physical condition that needs correction or renewal. Mrs. Eddy says: "Working out the rules of Science in practice, the author has restored health in cases of both acute and chronic disease in their severest forms. Secretions have been changed, the structure has been renewed, shortened limbs have been elongated, ankylosed joints have been made supple, and carious bones have been restored to healthy conditions." ^{Science and Health, p. 162.}

"The rules of Science" we have to practice rest on the laws of God that we have to obey. The divine Father of all made man whole and perfect and keeps him in a state of health and harmony. As we stick to this spiritual fact and live in accord with it, we will surely see more bodily renewal taking place in ourselves and in those around us.

Naomi Price

Great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them: insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.

Matthew 15:30, 31