Release from fear
/Question 2: Share a testimony other than physical healing in which reading one or more of Skip’s articles had played an important part in your own spiritual study and prayer and final demonstration.
I so cherish Skip’s direct and simple statements that cut to the heart of Christian Science practice and healing. They remind us that demonstration is not complicated, but simply the result of dedicated service to Truth.
Skip certainly addressed the issue of fear many times in his articles. In “No ‘good reasons’ for fear” (Sentinel, June 22, 1987), he reminds us, “There is a rule about fear in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. It says that every Christian Science treatment—that is, specific healing prayer—should begin with obedience to Christ Jesus’ command ‘Be not afraid’” (Science and Health, 410:29–30). This article has been helpful to me personally and when I have needed to explain fear to a young child.
I have also been supported in this release from fear by a short statement by Mrs. Eddy that I found on a placard during a tour of her Swampscott home: “Do right and fear not.” Mrs. Eddy made this comment at a meeting of the Christian Scientist Association, as reported in the November 1886 Christian Science Journal, noting that this is “the key-note of Christian Science.”
This simple phrase provides the foundation for all action. Doing right provides us with a standard of courage which, if we employ it, protects us from harm and announces to the world the true sense of being—man made in Spirit, not matter.
One of my favorite Bible stories is that of David and Goliath. As young David faced the giant Goliath, he had no body armor, only his sling and stones. But he did not hesitate. Instead of cautiously approaching the giant, the Bible tells us David rushed forward to meet Goliath, and soon destroyed him. What an example of courage! Courage not formed from foolish bravado, but courage born of the knowledge of God’s unlimited and universally available power. We all have that capacity for courage and, when exercised in the right way, can prevail over every “Goliath” we might encounter.