Prayer for Miners

I really appreciate the point made in the article “Trapped Miners Impress NASA Team” by the Christian Science Monitor about the “remarkable example of human resilience in the face of potential tragedy”.  And the ways in which humanity unites together in these instances to help one another.

Where does this strength and resilience come from?  Spirit.  It is Spirit (another name for God) that moves us, calms us, cares for us, and gives us new and useful ideas.  God is working in our thought, providing us with ideas, comfort, and these translate into daily supplies.  One of my favorite passages is a beautiful explanation of angels given by Mary Baker Eddy, a spiritual leader and teacher (and the discoverer and founder of the Monitor and Christian Science).

It goes in part like this:

“God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies. Never ask for tomorrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment. What a glorious inheritance is given to us through the understanding of omnipresent Love! More we cannot ask: more we do not want: more we cannot have. This sweet assurance is the “Peace, be still” to all human fears, to suffering of every sort.”  (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 307)

Mind (also another name for God) is being expressed in the activities, usefulness, and spiritual ideas the miners are doing and imparting.  Mind is never separated from It’s creation for a moment.  Each idea (man) is fulfilling it’s task and purpose.  The article points out that valuable work is important to each of us.  We all want to be valued and useful, and we are!  I love how someone has taken on the task of being a spiritual leader.  This small community of people is seeing the importance of God, realizing the presence of God, and of prayer (communing with God) in our lives.  They are obviously feeling a beneficial effect from their prayer, from reaching out to God, or that role wouldn’t be necessary.  Scientific studies are starting to lean more to the effect of our thought and prayer on the body and in our life.  And these people are feeling the effect and love of everyone’s prayer around the world.

There is one point in the article that I specifically want to address.  The article says there could be continued challenges and hardship for these miners and their families after they are rescued because of all they have been through.  But this does not have to be true.  God is divine Love.  And this Love is so beautiful, pure and perfect.  It doesn’t contain any harsh side effects or punishment and certainly doesn’t bestow these on His/Her creation.  The Bible says, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being;” (Acts 17:28).  So these children of God have never been separated from and never are separated from God’s love.  No amount of human theories and hypotheses can change the perfect effects and law of God on our lives.  Spirit and It’s creation can never change from it’s perfect state. We have divine authority to deny anything unlike God, good.  We are all perfect, innocent, and free, and our innocence has never been touched because it is our spiritual state, which is upheld by Spirit, divine Love.

In another beautiful passage, King David writes:

“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” (Psalms 139:8)

So as we continue to support our fellow-man in prayer, let’s know they are safe in God’s love right now and have never been apart from that Love and never will be.  They cannot endure anything unlike that Love.

What is the Scientific meaning of salvation?

I was reading the weekly Bible lesson this morning (which is comprised of citations from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures) and it talks about “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:12).

I began thinking about how the Christ (the activity of God) “saves” us from sin.

I think popular theology says we are “saved” from sin so that we don’t go to hell afterwards and have eternal life.

However, Scientific understanding realizes “sin” (or ‘missing the mark’ as the Latin implies) to be a kind of cloud that covers up God’s light, grace, and love.

So this “salvation” from sin, is actually saving us right now in this present moment.  Sin results from the belief that we are separated from God, good, divine Love.  But we are not and never have been separated with that Love.  We are at one with God, divine Love, right now.

When we live in accord with God’s spiritual nature we are open and receptive to more light, more opportunity and God’s blessings.  We are magnifying good, which is another term for God, and therefore we experience more good in our lives.  We are able to have better, more enriched relationships; confidence in knowing God is supplying all of our home, financial, and job-related needs; and a greater sense of peace along with loving our neighbor & communities better.

So this salvation isn’t meant to deprive us of all the joys of material living now so we can have eternal bliss after.  It is realizing, since God is Spirit, to live in accord with Spirit, to be at-one with Spirit, is where true goodness, peace, and, therefore, happiness comes from.  This is realizing eternal life now – the seamlessness and continuity of life, being, and existence right now.