"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
(II Timothy 1:7) In this Bible verse, we find a lovely promise of three gifts. - God doesn't give us the spirit of fear but of power, dominion.
- God gives us love (The ability to love God, which provides the ability to love your neighbor as you love yourself.)
- God gives us a sound mind. How often is it that contrary suggestions come to our thinking? These suggestions would try to say one doesn't have dominion/power over one's thinking, that we lack love somehow or in some way, and that we don't have a sound mind. However, I've come to find that these suggestions are, of course, only suggestion-- That one can either take in and accept as their reality, or reject. Mentally making the helpful choice, is beyond beneficial to our lives. When I was a teenager, there was a time when these false suggestions were knocking persistently on the door of my thought. My dad wrote the above II Timothy verse on a notecard and taped it to my bathroom mirror. Looking at it every morning was a helpful reminder that even when things appear the contrary, that I could reject and refute a false concept about the way God made his creation. (See Genesis 1) This was especially helpful on my mirror, as a reminder of who I really was. The knowing that I had these three gifts, as we all do- Really turned things around for me. I felt a joy I hadn't felt in a long time- But my joy didn't come from material, outward circumstances. It was spiritual. As we prayerfully study more about ourselves as Love's creation, we see we do have dominion and power over false suggestions. We see that our understanding of Love (another word for God) expands, blessing our view of ourselves and our relationships. And, we know with certainty that we do have a sound mind in our reflection of God, Love. The study of Christian Science shows us how to know this for ourselves. It shows us that our outward experiences do not have to define us, but rather, that we are defined spiritually. We begin to see our identity as it truly is- As a reflection of God, all Good. Consider this your bathroom mirror index card reminder of who you truly are, who you've always been (in Love's eyes) and who you will always be. Have a great evening,
Elaina
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