Day-by-Day Reflections in Christian Science

By Cheryl Petersen

Do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the LORD will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.1 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.2 God never sleeps and never dreams, so Gods likeness is conscious and doesnt dream. Mortals are the Adam dreamers. The consciousness of Truth rejuvenates us more than hours of unconsciousness. As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.3 When we reach our limits of mental endurance, we conclude that intellectual labor has been carried sufficiently far. On the other hand, when we realize that immortal Mind is ever active, we are able to rest in Truth. When we understand that our God-given spiritual energies and resources cant wear out, or be trespassed upon by mortal laws, we are refreshed by the assurances of immortality, opposed to mortality. I can lie down and sleep soundly because you, LORD, will keep me safe.4 See the world as your self. Have faith in the way things are. Love the world as your self; then you can care for all things.5 Gods kingdom isnt about eating and drinking. It is about pleasing God, about living in peace, and about true happiness. All this comes from the Holy Spirit.6 The fact is, food does not affect our absolute Life, and this becomes self-evident when we learn that God is our Life. Because sin and sickness are not qualities of Soul, or Life, we have hope in spirituality. Nevertheless, it would be foolish to stop eating a healthy
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Proverbs 3:21-26, NIV Psalm 121:4, ESV 3 Psalm 17:15, ESV 4 Psalm 4:8, CEV 5 Tao De Ching:A New English Version, by Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 13 6 Romans 14:17, NRSV

balanced diet, or to stop exercising, until we gain perfection and a clear comprehension of the living Spirit. In that perfect day of understanding, we shall neither eat to live nor live to eat. Hard work, catastrophes, danger, and all inconvenient conditions, if without sin, can be experienced without suffering. Your true responsibility can be fulfilled without harm to yourself. The one who stays on the job has food on the table; the witless chase whims and fancies.7 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus. He had recently come from Italy with his wife PriscillaPaul visited with them. Because they practiced the same trade, he stayed and worked with them. They all worked with leather.8 The best thing we can do is to enjoy eating, drinking, and working. I believe these are Gods gifts to us.9 Exercise this God-given power. Take possession of your body, and direct its feeling and action. Advance in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made you capable of this, and nothing can stop the ability and power divinely bestowed on your spirituality. We cannot fill vessels already full. Vessels full of the impracticable must first be emptied. Let us strip off error and stand in the showers of God and come cleanThe way to extract error from human mind is to pour in truth through flood-waters of Love. The cornerstone of all spiritual building is purity. Spirits baptism washes the body of all fleshly impurities and shows that the pure in heart see God. So dont lose a minute in building on what youve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others.10 (Unquoted references are from 21st Century Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, a modern version of Mary Baker Eddys Science and Health.)

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Proverbs 12:11, The Message Acts 18:1-3, CEB 9 Eccl. 2:24, CEV 10 II Peter 1:5-9, The Message