Never too late to experience freedom

Alternate title for Breaking news: Freedom is ours now.

The little bird in my hand was free to fly away. We’d banded him as part of an Audubon Society effort and the time had come for his release. But even when I opened my hand to let him go, he didn’t budge. What did he need? He just needed a little lift. When I gave him even the tiniest nudge upward, off he flew. Free!

What is it that gives this kind of lift to our lives? Good news, for one thing. And what better news than the promise that health and freedom can be ours today. Yes, today!

My lecture traces the origins of this good news to Christ Jesus’ ministry, and then explores how the discovery of a 19th-century woman named Mary Baker Eddy—who found freedom from chronic illness and other struggles in her own life—shows the provable relevance of Jesus’ ministry in our lives today. What she discovered through this study she called Christian Science—a view of God and the universe that uplifts our thoughts, changes our perspective to a spiritual viewpoint, and heals.

And it lifts all of us, and can heal all of us. I’ll share the way Christian Science has brought healing to my own life, rescuing me from a troubling situation with my teenage daughter, and freeing me from the effects of an accident, as well as examples of how it has helped others from different walks of life. The common thread through these experiences is the way a clearer view of the reality of our God-given wholeness also releases us from burdens in our lives and causes us to soar. Free!