"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
When I study the Lesson Sermon I often feel prompted to look up ‘ordinary’ words in the dictionary and am amazed at the results! The definitions are so spiritual they take my breath away. Recently I looked up the word “recover” and it said, “Regain possession or use or control of; acquire or find out again; reclaim; regain calmness and control of; (and the best of all...) CEASE TO FEEL THE EFFECTS OF!” This was a “whumph” idea, and I’ve learned to pay them great attention!
Just a few months after my darling mum passed on in August 2010, I was on duty in the Reading Room and picked up the January 2011 Journal. It had a section on Questions, based on the question and answer columns in the early Journals when Mary Baker Eddy was Editor. One question said: “Sometimes the ideas in Christian Science seem so abstract and unrelated – especially when faced with aggressive challenges such as a family member dealing with cancer. How can we stay strong in our faith in Christian Science and its effectiveness when the material picture seems so different from ‘spiritual reality?” Wow! I had to read THIS one.
One of the contributors’ answers stated: “We must look deep into realism instead of accepting only the outward sense of things.” (S&H page 129) Looking “deep,” instead of believing what the physical evidence is telling us about someone, requires great courage and spiritual love. You might ask yourself, “What is this individual’s true substance – those spiritual qualities that make them who they are? What is it that you love that is so good and wonderful about them? In your list, you might have, for example, tenderness, kindness, warmth, and JOY. (I lit up here, because Mum was known as Joy, although her real name was Joyce).
It might be helpful, in deepening your understanding of someone’s spiritual identity, to LOOK UP THE WORDS ON YOUR LIST IN THE DICTIONARY, and study them in the Bible and in Mrs Eddy’s writings. And to give gratitude for the fact that the spiritual substance this study reveals to you is the reality of their being.” (I do it all the time! Look words up in the dictionary! Awesome.) The answer finishes: “Don’t give up!” referring to deep prayer. “It is powerful because it is an expression of God’s love, and you are in the family to bear witness to that Love – and that is wonderful!”