Ben likes to work with his dad. He even has his own set of tools. It can be a lot of fun helping to fix things.

One day Ben was helping Dad work on the furnace. They live in a two-family house, and there are two furnaces that sit side by side in the basement. The furnace Dad was working on was turned off, but the neighbor's was still running. While they were working, Ben rested his hand against the flue of their own furnace. (The flue is the pipe that carries the smoke from the furnace to the chimney.) It was just a little warm. Then he touched the flue of the other furnace, which was running. It was very hot, and he pulled his hand away quickly. Ben's hand hurt—a lot!

Because they were Christian Scientists, it was natural for Ben and his family to turn to God when they felt scared or hurt. Mom had heard Ben's cry and joined Ben and Dad in the basement. Together, they talked about God's great love for all of His children, including Ben. They affirmed that God was always with them, caring for them, and that God's child was spiritual, so he couldn't really be touched or harmed by anything material.

While Ben cleaned up, he and Mom talked about the Bible story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were cast into the fiery furnace because they would not worship King Nebuchadnezzar's image of gold (see Dan. 3:1–30). Even though they were in the middle of the furnace, they were not touched by the fire. They had trusted in and obeyed God, and so were able to prove His constant care. Ben was safe in God's care, too.

Ben felt a lot calmer. But when bedtime came, he wasn't quite ready to go to sleep. He was a little scared. "Is it going to hurt forever?" he asked.

Mom comforted him and reminded him of something odd that had happened when he was washing up. The same water that had felt cold to one hand had felt hot to the other.

"You can't trust matter to tell you what's true," Mom said. She knew matter itself was a lie. "But you can trust God. Listen to what God is telling you."

Ben was quiet for a little while. He knew that God loved him and was always with him. He also knew a special word that he had learned in Sunday School—omnipotence. He knew that this word describes God's all-power. Because God is good, He would never use His power in a way that would hurt His children; and there simply isn't another power besides good! Soon Ben wasn't scared anymore, and he was ready to go to bed.

The next morning, he didn't think about his hand. He went to school as usual, and came home very excited. His class had worked on the horizontal ladder in the gym. On the ladder, each student had swung hand over hand as far he or she could go. Ben had gone almost the whole way—farther than ever before!—and his hand hadn't bothered him a bit. He was so glad to have learned more about listening to God.

Parent's note: In the morning, I wondered whether I should send a note to school with Ben, because I knew he was scheduled to have gym that day. But when I saw how free he was of the entire incident, I knew there was no need for a note. He was truly untouched, and he proved it!