The power of truth over poison

ALMOST every week we hear news stories about water contamination, air pollution, carcinogens in food, and toxic waste disposal problems. Although society is trying to find solutions, one has to wonder, ''But what can I do now, when the very air I breathe, water I drink, and food I eat, may be hazardous to my health?''

There's a passage in the Bible that shows there is an individual remedy. It's part of a promise Christ Jesus made to those who spiritually understood his message. He said, ''These signs shall follow them that believe; . . . if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.''n1

n1 Mark 16:17-18.

Now that's a rather remarkable assertion, considering the poisonous things one might ingest. Is such a thing possible? Yes, it is, when one's faith is grounded in spiritual truth and understanding, and not blind belief. This was proved in my own experience when I had what appeared to be severe food poisoning.

While on my way to college in another state, I stopped for gas and got some food at a small-town ''greasy spoon'' restaurant. I had not driven very long, when I became so violently ill that I had to pull my car over and stop. My vision blurred, and parts of my body became paralyzed. It soon seemed that I would not make it.

I was parked on a lonely desert road, hundreds of miles from the nearest large city, and it was around two in the morning. No cars were in sight, and even if one had come by, I could not have moved to signal for help. All I could do was pray, and I did. It's hard to relate what goes through one's thoughts in such a situation, but I do remember affirming, during moments of consciousness, truths I had learned in Christian Science.

I affirmed that God was my Life, the only real Life of man, and that this Life could not be destroyed by poison. I assured myself that I could not lose my Life, because I could never be separated from God. In this way I prayed, clinging to my Life, my God, and trusting He was with me and caring for me.

Now these may sound like simple thoughts, but I knew them to be true. Being true, they had divine power to heal. That's the nature of spiritual truths; when felt and spiritually understood, they do something, because the reality and might of God stand behind them. As Jesus said, ''Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.''n2

n2 John 8:32.

Soon I became well enough to start my car and drive very slowly along the shoulder of the road. I still couldn't see well enough to drive normally and was afraid of losing consciousness while driving at speed. I then came to a small town that wasn't even on the map and was able to check into a hotel. At this point, I called a practitioner of Christian Science, who agreed to pray for me, because things still seemed desperate. I once again lost consciousness, but it was with the complete assurance that I was in God's hands.

The next morning I awoke to the most incredible feeling of light and love and divine presence that I have ever experienced. I felt supported and embraced in a love that was joy itself. I picked myself off the floor, where I had fallen the night before, and I was completely free. Tears of gratitude streamed down my face, and I fell to my knees, this time in gratitude, as I wept and joyously praised our God. This experience wasn't just a private miracle. It illustrates a divine, healing Principle, God, that all may turn to. When felt and understood as the living reality it is, the truth of God and man does make us free, as Jesus said. His promise ''If they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them'' is provable, a present possibility.

As Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, explains: ''Jesus' promise is perpetual. Had it been given only to his immediate disciples, the Scriptural passage would read you, not they. The purpose of his great life-work extends through time and includes universal humanity. Its Principle is infinite, reaching beyond the pale of a single period or of a limited following.''n3

n3 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. pp.328-329.m It's the right and privilege of each one of us to know the freeing truth. The Principle of Jesus' lifework is ever with us, a divine presence and power to know, understand, and adore as the loving Father of all. In Him and His truth is the safety we seek, not only from poisons and pollution, but from every ill.

1 Mark 16:17-18. 2 John 8:32. 3 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pp. 328-329.

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