Article April 4, 1983 Issue

Repentance and healing

DESSA BYRD REED

Regeneration is an essential aspect of Christian Science. "Through repentance, spiritual baptism, and regeneration, mortals put off their material beliefs and false individuality."^{Science and Health, p. 242.} This clear statement in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, indicates how necessary it is to examine thought—to expose and be willing to part with sin.

It takes humility to turn the searchlight of Truth onto the darker areas of human thinking that we would just as soon keep hidden from the world (and even from ourselves). Such self-examination is nonetheless essential, for as the textbook explains: "A moral question may hinder the recovery of the sick. Lurking error, lust, envy, revenge, malice, or hate will perpetuate or even create the belief in disease."^{Ibid., p. 419.} Great blessing comes through purging consciousness of moral faults, and often after such purification, healing quickly follows.

There are two sides to this self-examination coin, however, and both are necessary for complete healing and lasting spiritual growth. Not only must human consciousness be relieved of its false beliefs about itself; also, the truth of man's perfection as the child of God must be seen and acknowledged. To see "lurking error, lust, envy, revenge, malice, or hate" for what they are—false suggestions about the image of God and no part of the real man—is to deal with them on spiritually scientific terms, not merely in terms of human thought change. We must realize that since man is the perfect reflection of God, who is Love, he can include and express only those spiritual qualities that come from Love itself.

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