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Enjoy expressing the joy and gift of eternal Life today!
Metaphysical Application Ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson on

“Life”
for July 15-21, 2019

By Lindsey Biggs, C.S., Practitioner of Christian Science, Maryland Heights, Missouri
biggs.lindsey@gmail.com 541.460.3515 LindseyBiggs.com

Introduction

Let’s explore the gift of eternal life that God has given us. God reveals our spiritual individuality above matter and limitation, and this life was demonstrated by Christ Jesus.

Golden Text

“Your unfailing love…” what a beautiful translation we have of this Psalm here in the New Living Translation (NLT) Bible. This term “unfailing love” is from the Hebrew word hesed, which is repeated many times throughout the Old Testament, particularly in the Psalms, and is a signature word to describe the love that God has for us. It is sometimes translated as lovingkindness or steadfast love. It is an enduring love. It’s not just love, but also the commitment to love that God has with us. The unfailing love of God that is always embracing us, caring for us, lifting us up, and helping us to see who we really are.

Responsive Reading

A beautiful introduction to the book of I John — you can practically feel the enthusiasm and joy with which the disciples were brimming over with in sharing the good news. “That which we have seen — which we are eyewitnesses to — we declare to you!” We have seen this Word of life in action! We have felt it! Their joy sparks a chord in our heart in sharing the good news! And they write to their communities and to people for all time so that we may have fellowship and joy together in this Word of life.

God is light, and in him is no darkness at all! No dark thoughts, no disease, no worry about the future. Only joy, harmony, freedom, and infinite goodness!

Section 1 (See Warren's PostScripts#2 and #3 from C. Crisler on Ps citations B3 & B4)

These psalms certainly inspire us with joy, hope, and courage! We have the right to be fearless! We have dominion and courage and strength. Just as Paul says in Romans 8 …nothing shall be able to separate me from the love of God (not things present, not things to come, etc.) He was so confident and secure in his relationship – his oneness with God – and with Christ.

Psalms 27 (B3) gives us the true sense of satisfaction. We can be absolutely satisfied by dwelling in the house – the consciousness – of God all the days of our lives. This is where we behold the beauty of the Lord! It’s not about having the beautiful or perfect material house. It is through those inspiring views that come from God, where we feel and know God’s presence with us. Then we take our true home, our true consciousness, with us wherever we go! And when we do this we are founded on the rock. We have a consciousness that cannot be moved! (B4).

It’s interesting how Psalm 42 (B2) talks about thirsting for God, which we also see mirrored in Jesus’ beatitudes “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness….” And Psalm 16 (B4) points us to setting God at our right hand and not being moved which points us to building that house on a rock “…and when the storms came and beat upon that house it did not fall” (Matt 7:25). You can see Jesus really drawing from these Psalms in his teachings.

I love how citation S2 is so all-inclusive with the word “universe”! It highlights an ecological standpoint that God is the only intelligence of all the earth – man, planets, trees, animals, insects, all coexisting in perfect harmony! What a beautiful reading this is to perceive this universe being governed in complete and perfect order and protection. Of course, this is the view that God already sees and knows. And this reality grows in our consciousness “as we subordinate the false testimony of the corporeal senses to the facts of Science, we shall see this true likeness and reflection everywhere.” (S6) God is the life of our trees, butterflies, cats, friends, and family! And this life is joyful, spontaneous, creative, healthy, and radiant! It is not dull, boring or burdened.

Mary Baker Eddy brilliantly gives us the synonym and statement “…Life is God” (S4). Of course, the Bible also tells us that God is our life, which is where she derived this beautiful synonym for God. “…for he is thy life, and the length of thy days…” (Deut. 30:20) It is beautiful, reassuring, and a powerful prayer to know and affirm that God is our life! We all have the same source of life!

Section 2

Who is this Melchisedec mentioned in Hebrews? I had to look this one up and here is what I found. Mechisedec is previously mentioned Genesis 14, Psalms 110, and then here in Hebrews. He doesn’t have a recorded mother or father so we see he is representing something of divinely ordained priesthood. This is pointing us to the eternal Sonship that Christ Jesus represents.

Dummelow writes, “At this point the argument resolves itself into a discussion of Christ’s priesthood in comparison with the Levitical priesthood, which is developed as the dominant theme of the Epistle… In his high titles and his uniqueness of kingly priesthood, independent of priestly descent as in the case of the Levitical priesthood, he [Melchizedek] is like Christ. He must be reckoned greater than the Levitical priests because he took tithes – the priest’s privilege under the Law – from no less a personage than their ancestor Abraham. The conclusion to which all this points is that since Melchizedek is so superior to the Levitical priests, Christ, who is of the order of Melchizedek, must also be superior in His high-priesthood.” (The One Volume Bible Commentary, p. 1014-1015). https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/all-men-bible/Melchisedec-Melchizedek

One thing that is clear in this section is the eternal and timeless nature of the Christ. One of my favorite things about Christian Science is the distinction of the term “Christ” and Jesus. Of course, the word Christ is sometimes used synonymously with Jesus, but Christian Science shows that Christ has a distinct meaning. We see it explained fully in the platform of Christian Science on page 332 of Science and Health.

… Jesus was born of Mary. Christ is the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness. The Christ is incorporeal, spiritual, — yea, the divine image and likeness, dispelling the illusions of the senses; the Way, the Truth, and the Life, healing the sick and casting out evils, destroying sin, disease, and death.

(SH 332:9-15 Jesus)

Citation S8 shows us that Christ always has existed and always will, and it shows us that the power of Christ, the reflection of God, is here for all people and for all time. Sometimes the term Christ is used interchangeably with Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit) such as in this example:

“Hold perpetually this thought, — that it is the spiritual idea, the Holy Ghost and Christ, which enables you to demonstrate, with scientific certainty, the rule of healing, based upon its divine Principle, Love, underlying, overlying, and encompassing all true being.”(SH 496:15)

And here we have a great bridge builder to communicate with our fellow Christians that we also share in the understanding that the Holy Spirit is here to heal and save!

Section 3 (See Warren's PostScript#4 from C. Crisler on citation B11 from John 10)

Oneness! I love the revelation of oneness that Mary Baker Eddy drew from the Scriptures. So powerful to know that we are each one with God! No separation! Not even for a second or moment! Have you ever noticed that any false, material lie that is presented to us is always suggesting that we are separated from God? Oneness is a great way to refute that lie and declare: “No! We are eternally one with God, and His Christ right now!”

We are each that drop of water/that ray of light (one with the ocean/sun). Just as that ray of light can’t ever be cut off from the sun, so we reflect the eternal oneness with God. We feel the warmth and energy of the sun through the rays! So we can feel the warmth, kindness, tenderness, generosity, care, joy, happiness, and love of God through all of us! We live, move, and have our being in divine Spirit, always safe and sound. Matter has nothing to do with our real identity! We are unlimited!

“My sheep hear my voice….” What a great idea to know for all of our children and campers. We each have the Word of God within us, speaking to us! God has made us capable of hearing His voice! We can hear God speaking to us at just the right time in the right way we need. A message that is so crystal clear.

I’m sure we’ve all had those moments of complete clarity or peace, when we have heard or felt God speaking to us. There is nothing like it! It happens in a moment! Have you ever noticed God doesn’t need to use a lot of words? God’s voice comes with that authority so you know it is true the moment you hear it. The Christ within you says “yes, that’s true!”

Section 4

I love how this section gives us instructions for how to live. We know from previous sections that all is Spirit and spiritual, so how do we live that way? We are harmonious and eternal because we are controlled by divine intelligence. We are obedient to Christ because there is nothing we would rather do! (S21)

I love how the Mary Baker Eddy’s passages in this section really bring a beautiful, spiritual light to Jesus’ parable. She was so ahead of her time by teaching that heaven and hell are states and stages of the human consciousness that can be experienced here and now. Checking out the definitions of heaven and hell in the Glossary of Science and Health might be helpful.

We do good and live our God-given goodness because that’s what we are made to do. And being spiritually minded gives us life and peace! (B16) Why would we want anything else? It is actually inconsistent with who we are as spiritual beings to believe that we could want or desire anything that is not right or good for us to have. Nothing unlike God can give us any satisfaction or peace. We are satisfied because we have the mind of Christ, and this Mind enables us to love our neighbor and conquer any false sense. We are loved right now!

Section 5 (See W's PostScripts#1, #5 and #6 on citations B18 & S29)

I love the healing in citation B18 with Peter and Tabitha because it shows us Peter’s spiritual growth as a disciple. Do you remember when Jesus went to heal Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:21-43)? Who did he allow to come with him to see that healing? Peter, James, John and the mother and father were allowed to be there. What did he want Peter to see and be a witness to? Eternal life and that there is no other power. Peter got to see firsthand how Jesus healed. What did Jesus do and say? Jesus put them all out and said “arise”! What did Peter do and say in this healing? He put them all out and said “arise!”. So we have a beautiful moment here of the disciple learning from the teacher and going on to follow his example. He had such confidence in God’s power when he went to Tabitha’s because he had already seen Jesus’ healings.

The gift of God is eternal life! I attended a wonderful lecture by John Quincy Adams, in which he used a hula hoop and a buckets as props. Have you all seen that one? He put the hula hoop as far as it could go in the bucket, which of course was only a section of the hula hoop. And it showed us that the spiritual image and likeness of God is the whole large circle, symbolized by the hula hoop, and our human experience is represented as the part that was in the bucket. It also illustrated how a Christian Science treatment works and the distinction made of God’s spiritual, perfect man and the human experience. What a gift that understanding really is! Everything God made is spiritual, perfect, with a beautiful eternal individuality. You can check out that lecture here (it is queued up at the point of the hula hoop):

https://youtu.be/YnNd1BAYsws?t=1500

Section 6

Entirely separate from the belief and dream of material living, is the Life divine…(S30) That means that you’re being and identity are entirely separate from matter and error! The material dream never touches the real you! So you are the perfect and whole spiritual identity of God right now! You can’t ever be something else!

Here’s another little metaphor: A movie played on a TV screen doesn’t ever change the actual TV screen. It doesn’t matter if it’s a romcom (shorthand for romantic comedy) , a war documentary, etc. No matter what the movie is that is being played on the screen – the movie doesn’t change the TV!

Similarly, a material dream can never touch or change the real you. You are the spiritual idea of God, perfect, flawless, and complete. Just like we saw with the hula hoop analogy in Section 5.

It is the Christ – the eternal Sonship – that Jesus embodied and showed to us that concludes this lesson. Jesus showed us a selfhood completely above and beyond matter. He demonstrated this spiritual individuality through his virgin birth, resurrection, and ascension. And it is all because God wants us to know this is real and true about us, too!


Warren's Post-Script#1: Attached (online) are both a monologue and poem from this week's Bible Lesson as offered by Ken Cooper from Great Britain. He wrote:
"
The demonstration of Life is the same as the demonstration of Love They exist together, interchangeably, with Life / Love as the fountain which ever flows, and Love / Life as the abundance of good deeds which are themselves eternal in the heavens.

The story of Tabitha is one that resonates so well, – a Christian character that was Christian even before she had heard of Jesus, – naturally doing what she could for those in need, and when she heard of the Christ her life no doubt became even more focused in love for others. She was a fountain of love and after her arising from the experience of death, a veritable beacon of life. Peter recognised too that love knew no boundaries and his own ministry took off soon after. His promise to “Feed my sheep” was being beautifully fulfilled.

The You tube link is a monologue read by Sue, as Tabitha's best friend: https://youtu.be/P0EGYNPwGVk The pdf copies are as attached.[in the upper right of CedarS online version.]


Warren's Post-Script#2: Being transcribed , posted and emailed later today are highlights of Cobbey Crisler's insights on some citations from this week's Christian Science Bible Lesson.

Warren's Post-Script#3: CedarS Camps still have a few openings in Sessions 4 (4.1, 4.2 and 5 (Family Camp)WITH UP TO FULL FUNDING (and even transportation assistance) AVAILABLE AS NEEDED!!

CALL US AT 417-532-6699 today to reserve your AWARD
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