Article November 12, 2018 Issue

Stand up to fear and witness the Christ at work

Ellen Clark Anderson

Reaching to pick up something one morning, I discovered that I could not move my thumb, even after trying various ways of doing so. I desired to take a spiritual path and turn to God for healing, as Christ Jesus did in his ministry. Interested in Jesus’ record of healing and in the healing work of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, I soon began addressing the situation through prayer as taught in Christian Science.

I began thinking about the New Testament account of Jesus in the temple on the Sabbath day, when he healed a man with a “withered” hand (see Mark 3:1–7). Jesus’ critics, the Pharisees, had watched to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, thus breaking Mosaic law. They wanted to defame him.

Jesus discerned and was displeased with the rigidity of their thoughts. Fearlessly trusting in God, he boldly called out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. When the man held out his hand as directed by the Christ, the spiritual Truth that Jesus represented, his obedience was rewarded: He immediately received the blessing of a totally useful hand. What deep gratitude and joy he must have felt in experiencing the power of Christ to show God’s goodness!

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