Tag: god’s children

Praying for Our Representatives and World

Published on by lindseybiggs2 Comments

 

 

On the evening when I read about Gabrielle Giffords being shot, I felt compelled to pray.  At first I wasn’t sure how to pray.  I knew I didn’t want to pray about specific human circumstances, so I started to think about God as Love.  And I instantly got a sense and a vision in my mind of Love being all – filling all space, the only Creator and manifested as Creation.  In this image all is happy, healthy and peaceful because all there is is Love.

 

Why is this image important?  If Love is all there is, then there is no hate.  If Love is all, then there is no cause of anything that is unlike Love.  Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of the universal science — Christian Science, teaches that sin and the sinner are both unreal.  (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures p. 472)  God’s creation is entirely good, spiritual, loving, happy and eternal.  Where, then, is the sinner?  Where then is the source and cause for the incident?  No where.  And as this healing takes place in our thought, there is also healing and transformation in the physical.

 

In his book, What’s So Amazing About Grace?, Yancey illustrates how necessary grace and forgiveness are in our personal and nation-wide experience.  When a situation is redeemed or healed in our heart and thought, we can go on with new views, unity, and work for progress and blessings for everyone.  He depicted many nations who are in conflict today based on challenges centuries ago.  Many people today don’t even know why their nation is fighting, it’s simply because they always have.  He labels this as “ungrace”.  I love this term “ungrace” because it makes things so clear to me — if it’s not grace we are thinking and expressing, then it’s ungrace.  What a help this is in being proactive about healing our world and individual thoughts and hearts.

 

Eddy states, in her compilation of Miscellaneous Writings, “A little more grace, a motive made pure, a few truths tenderly told, a heart softened, a character subdued, a life consecrated, would restore the right action of the mental mechanism, and make manifest the movement of body and soul in accord with God.” (p. 354)

 

A few months ago, I wrote a blog about the Stanford University studies on the correlation between health and forgiveness.  I see it this way: we are a window for God’s light and love; if the window is filled with dirt – resentment, hate, revenge, fear – then we experience as much of this substantial, healing light which is the source of all health, happiness, and peace.

 

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22 NIV)  This healing spirit of Truth and Love has profound physical effects and certainly leads to transformation of mind, body, soul and the world.

 

 

For an additional article on this incident check out: “She does not have that permission from me” by John D. Clague.

 

National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week

Published on by lindseybiggs2 Comments

This week is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week in the United States.  At our Christian Science Reading Room, in downtown Bend, we have a poster for members of the community to sign up to pray about this issue.  The statistics say that 160,000 kids stay home from school because of bullying, and that it has led to suicide (www.pacer.org).

 

This got me thinking that there really can’t be any victims in God’s kingdom.  God’s children are not and cannot be controlled by anything but Good, divine Love.  When we see and recognize God as the source and creator of all, we see that creation can only be good and reflects and possesses God’s divine nature.

 

I listened to a Sentinel Radio program (February 2010) where a boy in England applied the Truth found in the Bible and Christian Science to a bullying situation at school.  A boy was bullying him, quite aggressively, each day in class.  At first he didn’t know what to do about the situation, but after talking with his parents they decided to pray to love this boy and see his true spiritual nature.  The boy telling the story said he knew this other boy had to be a child of God, too, so he tried to look for qualities the boy expressed, which had their source in God.  He started noticing qualities this boy exhibited in different settings such as intelligence or his sense of style.  Soon this boy’s thought was transformed to see that this “bully” really was a child of God and had wonderful qualities and talents that he expressed.  Well, the whole situation was transformed in about a week and they became friends.  I love this testimony of healing, which was given so eloquently by this child.  A real spiritual transformation took place in him as he replaced the “counterfeit” view with the spiritual view and understanding of who God is and the spiritual nature of His creation.

 

All of God’s ideas, including children, reflect God’s qualities; these qualities are love, compassion, gentleness, unselfishness, confidence, and righteousness.  Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer and founder of Christian Science, has this definition for “children” in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “CHILDREN. The spiritual thoughts and representatives of Life, Truth, and Love” (p. 582).  There certainly isn’t anything sinful in that definition!

 

So how can anything unlike God be a part of His creation?  It can’t!

 

So, what is this appearance?  Simply an “aggressive mental suggestion” that God’s spiritual, perfect man is not all there is, and that we are not all protected by God’s powerful Love.  This is false!  And as we bring about awareness, shine a light on this subject together, we can join hands and take a stand that goodness, harmony and brotherly love are natural and normal.  Unselfishness is what we are really about.  And we are humble and meek allowing room for others to grow.

 

These “bullies” have every right to know that they are children of God, too.  They don’t need to feel insecure or unclear about their identity.  Each of us has a perfect identity from God full of all the intelligence, talents, and qualities that we need.  We are absolutely adequate and have infinite capabilities from our Creator.  And we fit in perfectly with God’s creation.  There is enough room for all of us!

 

As adults we have to exemplify this ourselves.  We certainly can’t “bully” each other’s politics or businesses or families, and then expect kids to get along well at school.  We are included in this harmonious atmosphere that we want to see kids embodying.  I was at a kid’s soccer game recently and was surprised to hear the parents misconstruing the actions of other parents on opposing teams, and parents not respecting or being courteous to one another.  What value system and example do we set forth for our children?  Mrs. Eddy states in the book previously mentioned, “Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you” (p. 571).  Panoply is “a complete suit of armor” (dictionary.com).  We are wrapped up in the armor of Love when we see and know only Love is going on, when we see the spiritual, perfect view of man that God created, and when we know how loved and cherished we are by divine Love, our Father-Mother.  Then human hatred doesn’t reach us; it cannot reach us!  This might be hatred that is targeted at us, or the temptation to hate someone else.  We can be totally shielded and protected by dwelling in the atmosphere (in thought) of Love.  Perhaps this is why Jesus said,

 

“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:” (KJV, Matt 5:44,45).

 

The Message says, “Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you” (Matt 5:48).

 

We can see and know each person’s identity as a spiritual child without any aggressive or insecure blemish in him or her.  And we can hold to who we are, as a child of God, totally protected and safe from any “bully”.

 

If you like the testimony about the boy shared above, there are many more at your local Christian Science Reading Room published in the Sentinel and on the Sentinel Radio program, on kids praying about bullying and finding resolutions.

 

Who is man?

Published on by lindseybiggsLeave a comment

I love this week’s Bible Lesson on the subject of Man.  These weekly Lesson’s offer such a great structure for learning and growing spiritually on a daily and weekly basis.

This week’s Lesson is all about how man is the blest and loved child of God.  It includes the first chapter of Genesis on how God created man in His (or Her) own image and likeness – in the image and likeness of Spirit.  Therefore, man (including all mankind) is spiritual and perfect right now.

We are healed by simply realizing this fact.  When we feel tempted to stress, feel afraid or burdened, or look down on ourselves or others, we can dismiss that thought or fear and know what is really true about ourselves.  We are the blessed and loved child of God.  God created us spiritual and perfect.  We are the embodiment of intelligence, poise, grace, confidence, joy and we have infinite abilities and talents which come from God.

So why think any other thoughts about ourselves or others?  We don’t have too.  We can stick to the Scientific facts about God and His perfect, good creation.

Mary Baker Eddy wrote in her inspiring book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, to “stand porter at the door of thought”.  This falls under the marginal heading entitled “Guarding the door” (p. 392).  Guarding the door of our thought is such a simple and effective way to only let God’s thoughts into our consciousness, and thereby let our experience be governed by divine Mind.  The result is harmonious, healthy bodies, good, unselfish relationships, and fulfilling work and supply.

She writes, “The conceptions of mortal, erring thought must give way to the ideal of all that is perfect and eternal. Through many generations human beliefs will be attaining diviner conceptions, and the immortal and perfect model of God’s creation will finally be seen as the only true conception of being.” (p. 260)

So we can start right now by only accepting the good, true and perfect model.  God’s creation is spiritual, universal, and complete, and He made all that was made – entirely good.  This Truth blesses and uplifts everyone.  We are all God’s beloved, cared for children.