Home and resurrection

MARRIAGE. Home. Family. These concepts are intertwined in our lives, whether we be parent, child, spouse, brother, or sister. At their best, these aspects of life are some of the warmest and most precious we know. But in the midst of change or conflict, the heart can be pierced with sadness and hurt.

A question once came to Christ Jesus about family relations after the resurrection. He replied, ''In the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.''n1

n1 Matthew 22:30.

That may or may not be what someone would want to hear right now, or would understand. Yet the power of spiritual and moral resurrection is available today-available to restore tender affection, innocence, and receptivity to good. We need not wait for terrible conflict to learn of and experience Christ's redeeming love in homelife. Nor need we be burdened with the sad foreboding that even the best family relationships will eventually end. Though scenes change and separations may occur, God's goodness is undying, and we can never really lose that good. It may appear in different ways, assume different forms, but it is enduring. The resurrection, that spiritual transformation of thought and life that lifts men and women above the hurt and limitations of materiality, preserves even now our sense of unity with God and His constant care.

Jesus was always found raising up men's and women's flawed hopes and timid faith. He helped them see how right in the midst of hurt and mistake and failure there was a spiritual recourse that could restore the individual's lost knowledge of God's nearness and might. The way Jesus lived, his knowledge of God's tender care and constant availability, show the resurrection to be much more than a far-off religious hope or an escape from earthly hardship. When we view his resurrection in the context of his whole life, we realize that the uplifting and regenerating power of divine Love was not limited to a one-time, dramatic physical restoration of his body.

Where can we begin the spiritual resurrection that restores the soundness of homes as much as the soundness of minds and bodies? Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes, ''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.''n2

n2 Miscellaneous Writings, p. 354.

This spiritually mental restoration can commence today. The healing of domestic conflict and the preservation of the gentle strength and firmness of a good home come as we respond to that deep, inner desire to draw nearer to God, divine Love; to express to a greater degree our actual, Godlike selfhood, made in His likeness. In a home where this resurrecting power is being discovered by even one member of the family, the divine influence will be felt by others, whether or not they acknowledge or recognize it. And when one begins to embody such spiritual strength and nurturing of his relationship to God, events adjust more readily to God's care and direction. This kind of living, transcending circumstances, brings spiritual vitality and light, which are manifest in a happier home.

''Seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you,'' Christ Jesus taught. And then, according to Luke, he added this strong assurance: ''Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.''n3

n3 Luke 12:31, 32

It is right and normal to expect the healing of discord in homes and families through such spiritual turning and unselfed love. Then those three words ''marriage,'' ''home,'' ''family,'' will become reminders of God's tender care. That's something we all can experience. DAILY BIBLE VERSE Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. . ., who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. II Corinthians 1:3, 4