Where do you get your truth?

Facebook?  Media?  Friends?  Church?  Gut?

With the election season in full swing there are lots of sources for “truth” but how do you know what’s actually true?

Jesus famously said, “ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)  He wasn’t speaking at a political rally, but his words helped shape history nonetheless.  Jesus knew that the seeming truth of circumstances and events, of human ways and means, would ultimately pass away.  Yes, it was important to be well informed.  But he was speaking of truth that was larger than just the conditions of his day.  He was speaking of Truth itself, God, that would break the bonds of ignorance, illness, sin, and even death.

Our Master’s simple statement put forth a universal fact: Look to God and strive to know Him.  Doing so will help you sort through all the confusion and find a useful solution for moving forward.

Whether it’s who to vote for in this or any election cycle, or how to overcome fear, or even when seeking renewed health and vigor, turning to God, divine Truth, will reveal how to think deeply and with hope on these and all topics.

To be clear, God is not manipulating human circumstances to get a specific outcome.  But He is bringing forth order, harmony, safety, satisfaction, and usefulness as right components of His creation.  Endowed with those qualities of thought, we – His beloved children – can rightly determine and bring resolution to, any issue that comes to our attention.

This kind of spiritual thinking is the truth that makes you free – free from anger and apathy, or free from illness.

The Bible explains, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”  (Proverbs 3:5,6)

Mary Baker Eddy lived this, and encouraged others to “Pray for the prosperity of our country, and for her victory under arms; that justice, mercy, and peace continue to characterize her government, and that they shall rule all nations. Pray that the divine presence may still guide and bless our chief magistrate, those associated with his executive trust, and our national judiciary; give to our congress wisdom, and uphold our nation with the right arm of His righteousness.”  (Prayer for Country and Church, Pan p.14)

The wisdom you need to find your way through today’s issues is yours.  God is pouring it forth and it won’t return unto Him void.  (See Is 55:11)

Melissa Hayden is a Christian Science practitioner in Salem, OR. You can find more information and additional articles at this link.  If you like what you’re reading, click the “add me” button.

What does love look like?

We all know it when we see it: parents and children, spouses, friends, even strangers caring for, reaching out to, and helping one another.  This is love in action.  It has many different expressions: tenderness, assistance, listening, protecting, cherishing, comforting, aiding, lifting.  The list is long and we each could add many words to it.

And because we know what it looks like, we know when it’s missing too.

What can be done about that?

Is it really missing?  If God is Love as the Bible says (1st John 4:8), and God fills all space (Deut 4:39), also as the Bible says, how could love really be missing?  What is actually missing is our recognition of it.

If our premise is that Love is everywhere, we will expect to see it, expect to know it, right where it seems to be missing.  When it seems impossible to see love – in a disaster, or a sick room, or a political rally – close your eyes to the picture and open your heart to the reality of Love’s ever presence.  Don’t let go of Love until you are convinced that even right there in the thick of unloveliness, Love is at work.  Quietly.  Safely.  Permanently.

This is what Jesus did.  His conviction of the power and presence of Love enabled him to pass through an angry crowd unharmed (Luke 4:29,30); to raise to life the daughter of parents engulfed in sorrow (Mark 5:42); to feed a multitude too hungry and tired to fend for themselves (Matt 14:20); and the greatest example of Love at work, to resurrect himself from the grave (John 20:17) to prove that even there Love prevails.

These were not just isolated instances.  The Gospels are filled with stories of Love overcoming misery and despair.  And even after Jesus’ ascension, his disciples, and their disciples, and their disciples after that, continued to prove the healing and saving power of love right where love seemed to be missing.

And we can do the same today.

It doesn’t require any special power or even any religious affiliation.  It simply is a matter of holding in thought that love is stronger than hate, that it casts out fear, that it soothes and comforts.  Even in the face of that which is definitely not love.

Doing so introduces a new possibility into the mix, one not so convinced of the ugliness or sadness or terror.  That little glimmer of hope actually begins to reveal how love has been at work, quietly under the surface – but there all along.

When you look for it, you see it.  And rather than being aghast at its absence you will see its curative power gently dissolving every unloveliness.

Yes, it requires effort.  Yes, it requires consistency.  Yes, it even requires faith – faith that one person can make a difference.  But isn’t that better than the alternatives of hopelessness or indifference?

Divine Love is here.  Hold your ground in expectation that you can see it at work.  And then look for evidence of your conviction.

I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.  For Love is loving you too.

Melissa Hayden is a Christian Science practitioner in Salem, OR. You can find more information and additional articles at this link.  If you like what you’re reading, click the “add me” button.

Magic Bullet?

Often we’re looking for that one thing that will solve the problem or fix the issue or make things better.  And just as often, it seems out of reach.  “If only” becomes our mantra.

There is a story in the Bible that Jesus tells of a rich man and a beggar.  They both die.  The rich man goes to hell, but sees the beggar in Abraham’s lap, afar off.   The rich man pleads to Abraham that he send the beggar down to assuage his thirst. But Abraham says no, because crossing over is impossible.  Then the rich man suggests that Abraham send the beggar to visit his brothers who may also find themselves in hell in the not too distant future if they don’t change their ways.  Abraham again says no, because they have Moses and the prophets to remind them of what is right.  The rich man makes one last plea: but if someone from the dead came to remind them, surely they would repent! Abraham says no a last time.  If they won’t believe Moses and the prophets, why would they believe a dead man?  (Luke 16:19-31)

The rich man was looking for a magic bullet.  But the answer, the solution, was there all along.  Moses and the prophets had already made clear what kind of life a man should live in order to find himself in Abraham’s lap.  And the rich man had constant access to that resource, just like the beggar did.

How are we, like the rich man, overlooking the answer we already have?  Is it really just out of reach? Do we really not have enough information or time or hope or inspiration or strength or intelligence or whatever we believe is lacking? Are we simply out of luck?

Jesus told the Pharisees, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”  (Luke 17:19)  In other words, everything that you need is right at hand.  God has already provided it and you don’t have to look any farther than your own consciousness.

The kingdom of God is not a place but a receptivity to God’s message of constant good.  It can’t be taken from us, nor we taken out of it.  It’s built into us as the image and likeness of Spirit.  And if we ever forget that, Moses and the prophets, and especially the teachings of Christ Jesus will bring to remembrance all that we need to move forward successfully.  A quiet yearning to hear God’s voice always brings results.

Just as Jesus knew that the kingdom of God within him indicated his oneness with his heavenly Father, and thereby healed every possible condition, we too can heal as assuredly by recognizing our own oneness with that same divine Parent.  Getting clearer and clearer about that puts spiritual healing in reach, and in plenty of time.

It’s not a magic bullet. It’s an ever present, ever ready, and ever at hand infinitely available and loving power, meeting every need, every time.  Let’s make use of what we have right here.  The resources of God, which anyone can find explained in the Bible, are enough.  Throughout the centuries, people have turned to the Bible time and time again to find comfort, hope, safety, and health.  And even without a Bible to guide you, the kingdom of God within you is still actively at work providing information and inspiration.  And you can hear it and know it and prove it reliably and consistently.  Right here, right now.

Why wait?  What you need is right at hand.  You can do what you need to do safely and effectively.  Guaranteed.

Melissa Hayden is a Christian Science practitioner in Salem, OR. You can find more information and additional articles at this link.  If you like what you’re reading, click the “add me” button.