I guess some people try to block out thoughts of what happens after death, others think that there is no afterlife at all and that we, like all material things, will just end up as ‘dust’ and will be no more. And then there are many who think that we will be reincarnated, or go to a heaven up in the clouds or a hell elsewhere.

None of these scenarios make sense to me as a Christian Scientist. Christ Jesus let us know clearly what eternal life was, “And this is the way to have eternal life – to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.” (New Living Translation of the Bible, John 17:3)

So, we need to get to know God, and then get to know his son. Sounds possible…..

How do we do this?

Well, Jesus demonstrated what he said. He said that God is Love and Life and Truth, and that we get to know God as we express these qualities in our lives. He said that he was not God, but the son of God and that we are his brothers.

He also consistently healed the sick and even overcame death. I believe that these were not ‘one-off’ miraculous events, but the demonstration of scientific laws – spiritual laws that speak of Life that is eternal.

During the first couple of centuries after Jesus life on earth his disciples were also doing such healing. But not until repeatable laws were discovered and named Christian Science, did mankind get a glimpse that Jesus’ works could be emulated, even if only in small degrees at first.

It seems that physical and mental healing is integral to the understanding of a God who is only good; who is Life, Truth, Love, Soul, Spirit, Mind, Principle, and is All – as Christian Science explains.

I’ve reported on this blog many times, healings of all sorts of physical and mental ills. The realisation that life is eternal and should be full of fun and progress has turned around many cases of people heading down the road to despair and death, like this account of a woman whose life turned around totally from an inevitable death to a new life and purpose. The author, Mick Bendor, tells how his active engagement and prayer made a difference to both her and him:

“Over the previous year or so, this woman, who is of another faith, had given in to the persuasive arguments from others that she was physically and mentally unable to take care for herself and that she must inevitably move out of her house and relinquish the entire proceeds from the sale to be managed by lawyers for the rest of her life. In fact, I came to learn that the best-case scenario decided for her was that should she survive the current hospitalization, her only viable prospect was admittance to a nursing home.

“I immediately started praying and soon became aware of this woman’s feeling of dread, of absolute despair. I sensed her resignation, the darkness of thought that had overcome her. It came to me, through prayer, that what was really taking place on a human level was that she was willing herself to physically shut down. Moreover, that she had spiritually disconnected from a truer sense of her God-given life…..”

“After only a brief conversation with this woman, it dawned on her what had actually been taking place. After her husband passed on some years earlier, she had gradually come to accept a picture of a limited future, with nothing to look forward to. In fact, she had implicitly accepted that hospitalization was an inevitable revolving door, a natural part of the aging process.

“Later, the hospital conducted a CAT scan. It was expected to reveal a serious disorder. The results showed nothing. The woman dressed herself and left the hospital the very next day. Her situation had completely turned around in less than a week from the time she started praying in this way.”

Our community is no longer accepting the belief that decrepitude is inevitable. A whole new picture is emerging for Aged Care. In truth, decay and debilitation are not inevitable. I rejoiced in this truth on the weekend, when my 91 year old dad drove me the 120 kms out from Toowoomba to Jimbour for the Opera in the fields. He then hiked around the grounds and fields taking photos of all and sundry.

I reckon that it’s up to each of us to take a stand that health and progressive activity are normal for everyone, and not to stand back and accept decrepitude as the norm. This week’s events have prompted me to make a stronger stand and to proactively pray. What about you?

More on this subject – Could it be that we all have the power to think ourselves young again?