Welcome home to the all-inclusive family circle where God is the center and circumference!

Welcome home to the all-inclusive family circle where God is the center and circumference!

Application Ideas for: “Mortals and Immortals,“ The Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson for Nov. 6 -12, 2006 

The Golden Text tells us to praise God through every square inch of us! Why should we? Look what He’s done for us – redeems and crowns us with everything good. The Responsive Reading follows with even more benefits. It is God’s divine parenting that becomes obvious in this week’s Lesson. The huge family of God is called in from all corners, all types, all situations. Why? Because He is fulfilling His /Her promise to us of eternal care and help. Actually we cannot help but be His witnesses. We are His thoughts expressed!

The Lesson shows us what would appear to be a human life cycle, but the true life cycle is really of spiritual life-qualities, not as grass.

Section 1 No grass seed!

Although “green is good” as Kermit the Frog would say, we are not grass. God is the Creator of all. He/She is the divine Parent of all ideas providing us with everything that we could ever need. Not only our needs, but the “children’s children.” (B1) We live forever by the “word of our God.” (B2) Thank heavens. What does grass need to grow? Light, for one. We are given that light in Bible marker 3. Even in gross darkness, we have light, the light of understanding. What is that understanding? The Christ – new revealed creatures without flesh made in the divine stature of the Christ. (B5) Marker 4 talks about “beholding in a glass.” We are the reflection of God. What is reflection? “Any state in which the mind considers its own content.”(Webster’s) Aren’t we the expression of Mind, with an upper case M? How do we consider our own content, but by expressing what God is! It is not of our origin, but of God, our Parent!

Science and Health marker 1 sums up the Christ ideal that we reflect. Do we always hear the Christly voice, listen and follow? What is the “spiritual agreement? Agreement suggests a real partnership. God needs us as we need Him. The Christ is the facilitator of that agreement. There is a human life cycle presented in S&H 3, but the end, “In Thy light shall we see light” sets the record straight. Doesn’t mortality think of life as a dead end? In Science, we have the fountain, not of youth, but of agelessness. Yea for the light! (S&H4) What seems to get confusing is when we know that we are idea, but the matter-body is screaming that we are not. That is the darkness of confusion. We can and do see the light of real substance as we look at qualities indestructible, not at things destructible. Then we are witnesses and live the light.

Section 2 The family cycle begins – in moral union, marriage.

We have the human picture of proper relation, love and marriage. (Read the whole story of Jacob. It is a lesson in persistence and learning. True proof of dedicated love.) Our stature is based not on physical growth and maturity, but on the full understanding of our Christliness. As we know, we are already complete in that stature. (B9) Are we in the resurrection thought? (B10) Everyone will have to answer for him or herself how marriage fits the spiritual equation.

Mrs. Eddy tells what marriage is  – a union of hearts first, but a protection to society, a moral provision. The bottom line for marriage in our lives is to “secure increasing virtue” in love and generation (children), “protection to women, strength to man and a centre for the affections.” (S&H 5,6,7) The Christ, at the bridal altar is the wine (inspiration) needed to remind us that life truly is spiritual, not mortal. (S&H8) Remember the spiritual agreement in the last section and expanded it on every level possible.  Work to see all in your family and in your school/work/church families spiritually (as God sees them) and to get along harmoniously.

Section 3 To whom do all children belong? There’s only a good heritage!

Our divine Parent. God cares for all of His ideas, even the unborn. (B14) How do we know that? Man, as idea, has no beginning or end. An idea is always an idea. “Never born and never dying,” an idea just is! We get selfish and want to “see” or “be with” and idea, but we can still know that that Idea always exists. (S&H10) Mrs. Eddy defines child-ideas according to Science in marker 11. Aren’t we all, that offspring? Totally complete, always. Although the paragraph with the marginal heading, “Scientific obstetrics” would sound as if it literally refers to childbirth, think of the huge applications that it includes regarding business deals, real estate, any development of project ideas, camp programs and church growth.  We often hear the part, “A spiritual idea has not a single element of error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive.” It is an instructional reminder that the truth does the removing. What is that truth? That a pure idea has no element that is not of God. (S&H 12)

Section 4 Many children, many families – we’re all one flock! Baaaaaa! How is the flock taught?

God is the Master Teacher! Yet it sometimes takes the strong hand and arm to keep the lambs in line. (B15) God’s instruction to parents is in Deuteronomy. (B16) Teach each of us, and every generation, to “love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”(B16) We all as children want to be good and love God and man, but there are times when we really have to work on it. That’s why we give the ‘big picture’ to God to care for. He does such a good job. We want to be happy sheep! (B18)

God gives His guidance to parents to raise up their children in the right way. We all have to affirm this for the world. There are no children of God who are uncared for, left alone or “left behind.” At the absolute, divine level, there’s never been a need for more legislation about that. It has always been law! God’s Law! What kind of education is needed? Obedience to moral and spiritual law! Children learn by example, not by choice or chance. (S&H13,14,15,16) Shouldn’t everyone express the ‘mother’ thought? Yes, Mrs. Eddy was taught right. (S&H 17) Her development of her Christianly scientific education further grounded her full education.

Section 5 Uh oh, what about adolescence? Don’t you love it? Individual expression!

We have the prodigal son’s example. It’s too bad that we don’t have the other brother in the lesson as well. We don’t all live like a reckless teen. Sometimes we complain and growl because we don’t realize and take advantage of the good we have right at hand. (Read the other brother’s story in Luke.) What kind of a child are we? Do we learn by mistakes or learn though thoughtful consideration of what is ours? God, our Parent, loves us at all times no matter what ‘type’ of learner we are.

There was parental love and forgiveness offered to the prodigal son. The prodigal had to learn from his experience what his real gravitational pull was – God-ward. He was redeemed. He found where his real joy originated. (S&H 18,19) S&H 20 contains a major point that we all must learn, that is, to let go of our past mistakes. We should learn lessons from them, but let them go. We can’t go back and erase time, but our retroactive treatments can affirm what has always been true and so peel off falsifying labels. The Christ ideal is present. Our Parent is perfect as we must be by reflection! (S&H 21,22)

Section 6 To continue our family cycle, even the in-laws are loved!

Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law of her feverish claim. It was a complete, instantaneous healing because she right away prepared what they needed. (B21) Day and night, God’s parental love is with us and His/Her whole family all of the time. We can never be confused during any part of our lifetime since God is caring for us. We can totally trust in that. (B22,23)

Camp Director’s Note: The above sharing is the latest in a long series of CedarS Bible Lesson “mets” (metaphysical application ideas) contributed weekly by a rotation of CedarS Resident Practitioners and occasionally by other metaphysicians. This document is intended to initiate further study as well as to encourage the application of ideas found in the Weekly Bible Lessons as printed in the Christian Science Quarterly and as available at Christian Science Reading Rooms. * Originally sent JUST to campers, staff and CedarS families who wanted to continue at home and in their home Sunday Schools the same type of focused Lesson study and inspiration they had felt at camp, CedarS lesson “mets” are in no way meant to be definitive or conclusive or in any way a substitute for daily study of the lesson in the books. The thoughts presented are the inspiration of the moment and are offered to give a bit more dimension, background and daily applicability to some of the ideas and passages being studied. The citations referenced (i.e. B1and S28) from this week’s Bible Lesson in the “met” (metaphysical application ideas) are taken from the King James Version of the Bible (B1-24) and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. (S1-30) The Bible and Science and Health are the ordained pastor of the Churches of Christ, Scientist. The Bible Lesson is the sermon read in Christian Science church services throughout the world. The Lesson-Sermon speaks individually through the Christ to everyone, providing unique insights and tailor-made applications for each one. We are glad you requested this metaphysical sharing and hope that you find some of these ideas helpful in your daily spiritual journey, in your deeper digging in the books and in closer bonding with your Comforter and Pastor.)

Enjoy!
Warren Huff, Director        director@cedarscamps.org