Testimony of Healing September 17, 1990 Issue

A Few months after I had begun to make a study of the Bible...

Linda Jo Beckers

A Few months after I had begun to make a study of the Bible and the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, I became ill. I went to a doctor, as I had always done. I was diagnosed as having a sinus infection, and was given a prescription to clear up the infection. As I studied Christian Science, however, it became clear to me that by taking medication I was making a choice not merely between two methods of treatment but between two views of who I am—a material mortal governed wholly by physical law or, in a much deeper sense, God's perfect, spiritual idea, made in His likeness. Acting according to my best sense, I stopped taking the medication and called a Christian Science practitioner for prayerful help.

Joyous day indeed! I volunteered a detailed description of my symptoms, but the practitioner began instead to talk about God's love holding me, surrounding and supporting me as His own beloved child. The practitioner spoke of my right to health and reminded me of Christ Jesus' words "Seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew) and "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke). I listened, and I began to breathe freely for the first time in a week.

The practitioner agreed to pray with me. We turned together to the Lord's Prayer, with its spiritual interpretation, which concludes the chapter "Prayer" in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mrs. Eddy. I pondered it as I went about my duties for the day, trying to understand what was meant in each line. I was familiar with the line "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" from the Bible, but as I considered the corresponding phrase "And Love is reflected in love," from Science and Health, I began to see that God is much closer than I had realized. I thought about what it means to reflect God. I was no longer praying to God to heal a material problem. I became aware that man is the very love that God expresses.