IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BIBLE LESSON July 21, 2008 Issue

SOLID AS A ROCK

NANCY FISCHER

ROCK. Law. Foundation. Cornerstone. These ideas stood out as I read this week's Christian Science Bible Lesson on "Truth." They all speak of solidity and things unshakeable—exactly the qualities of divine Truth, of spiritual reality.

A quick look at a Greek lexicon gave me these rocklike definitions of truth, as the Bible uses the word to describe God: firmness, faithfulness, security, absolute dependability, certainty, stability, trustworthiness. A glance through a daily newspaper gave me a vastly different argument for what constitutes the truth of things: violent weather, political upheaval, moral confusion, economic panic, health fears, lurking dangers everywhere. Suddenly, studying the Bible to see the real truth became very relevant!

The Psalmist's prayers in Section I clarify thet it's God and His laws that are true; that they give strength and protection. Psalm 119 is especially interesting. Of its 176 verses, all but seven have a term meaning "law" in them—including statues, judgments, precepts, ways, testimonies, and commandments. This Hebrew poet (or poets) loved God's spiritual laws, and understood their freeing and harmonizing effects when understood and obeyed. As citation 3 in Science and Health corroborates, "It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony" (p. 390). Throughout this Lesson, this "right understanding of Him" — of Truth itself — is shown to be the only valid foundation on which to build one's life.