My wilderness experience led me to Christ

In the Gospel of Mark, we read, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (1:3). Mary Baker Eddy gives this definition of wilderness in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “Loneliness; doubt; darkness. Spontaneity of thought and idea; the vestibule in which a material sense of things disappears, and spiritual sense unfolds the great facts of existence” (p. 597). These statements remind me of my experience of finding my way out of a career in medicine and into the study and practice of Christian Science.

Working in the medical field had been becoming more and more of a wilderness experience for me. Having a growing dissatisfaction with, and doubt about, what I had studied for years, I was feeling lonely, and even fearful. After learning what Christian Science teaches, I didn’t know what to do with my new insights. But at least I could understand why I’d been doubting my medical work. I also realized that until now I’d had no idea who I really was, let alone that I was spiritual. 

I learned that man (each individual’s true being) is the pure reflection of God, Soul, and that therefore man is sinless, having a perfect, unique, spiritual identity. Since man reflects God spiritually, he is not a material body or bound by matter; he is not subject to inharmony or death, and is incapable of sin and suffering. That all seemed so wonderful!