IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BIBLE LESSON May 10, 2010 Issue

CLAIM THE REAL PRIZE

CHRISTA KREUTZ

A WELL-KNOWN SONG made famous by Bob Marley says "emancipate yourself from mental slavery," which might just come to some of you as you study this week's Christian Science Bible Lesson titled "Mortals and Immortals." The citations beckon us to hear God's message of emancipation from mortality—from a life stuck in finite matter.

The Lesson opens with a Golden Text from Psalms, which says that God "redeemeth thy life from destruction" and "crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies" (103:4). "To redeem" usually means to get or win something back. This week's Lesson shows that through recognition of our close and direct relationship with God, we are redeemed from mortality and come to know our true immortal nature.

Emancipation and redemption go hand in hand, as the Responsive Reading confirms. Isaiah, speaking for God, declares, "I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer" (60:16). The Jews had recently been emancipated from years of domination by Babylon, then Persia. Finally, King Cyrus of Persia allowed them to return and rebuild Jerusalem, which had been destroyed by the Babylonians. In this rebuilding of Jerusalem they called their walls "Salvation" and their gates "Praise" (Isa. 60:18). Their city and their homes were to be built on lasting ideas, acknowledging their unbreakable relationship with God. Additionally, God told the people that their labor would not be in vain (see Isa. 65:23). They were assured that God was with them and that all their needs would be met.

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