Article January 16, 1995 Issue

Matter, Spirit, and Christian healing

Robert G. Lawrence

When a man with a withered hand came to Christ Jesus for healing, the Bible tells us, "His hand was restored whole as the other" (Mark 3:5). The seeming substantiality of matter was no obstacle to this great healer. But if we are seeking to understand Jesus' method of healing, it is valid to ask: How did what Jesus knew about Spirit, God, and about matter, enable him to heal? Understanding the distinction between the insubstantiality of matter and the substantiality of Spirit is fundamental to Christian healing. It enables us to prove the power and presence of the Christ—the true, spiritual idea of God—over material beliefs that seem so real when we are ill or in trouble.

A young Christian Scientist proved this during basic training in the military. An epidemic broke out. Praying earnestly for God's help to understand that man is and always has been spiritual, he was instantaneously healed of the medically diagnosed symptoms of Asian flu.

This prayer-based healing drew upon the same universal law of God that Jesus relied on throughout his ministry. Jesus never let personal opinions, long-standing fears, or superstition cast a shadow over his trust in God's power. Spirit's ability to destroy anything that is unlike God, good, and Jesus' unwavering acceptance of this fact were what made him an unparalleled healer. As Mary Baker Eddy explains in Science and Health, "He plunged beneath the material surface of things, and found the spiritual cause" (p. 313).

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