 On vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, members of my family were at each others' throats. The sun and fun left us all pretty exhausted and irritable. My husband and daughter would not let up on fussing at each other. My patience with them both had reached its limit. At a certain point, when I had had enough, I informed them that we were going to attend the Wednesday evening testimony meeting at the local Christian Science church. I would not take "No" for an answer. It was a first time visit to a Wednesday meeting for my husband, and a first time out of the children's room and into the pews for my 8-year-old daughter. As we listened to the inspired Word of the Bible and correlative passages read from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures - the complete exposition of Christian Science by its discoverer, Mary Baker Eddy - a change occurred in us all. My restless daughter quieted. The frown wrinkles on my husband's face - signaling fatigue, grumpiness and resistance to being in the church - ironed out. I began to feel more peaceful and relaxed. We listened to readings, we sang hymns, we prayed for each other, and we heard examples, through personal testimony of the attendants, of God's law of harmony in action in their lives. There were accounts of lost articles found in amazing ways, physical cures through prayer, financial difficulties overcome. It was only an hour. But when we left the church, my husband said, "Thanks. I feel better." And the rest of the trip proved to be one of our happiest ever.  I am frequently asked, "What is Christian Science?" Like anyone engaged in the active practice of a science, I have several "go to" answers. For example, I might describe it as the scientific system of divine healing based on the teachings of Christ Jesus. But there is another simpler definition found in Science and Health. It is " the natural law of harmony which overcomes discord." How simple and direct! The complete reference is found on page 134: "The true Logos is demonstrably Christian Science, the natural law of harmony which overcomes discord, - not because this Science is supernatural or preternatural, nor because it is an infraction of divine law, but because it is the immutable law of God, good." Christian Science is the natural law of harmony which overcomes discord. Thinking back to that Wednesday meeting during our summer vacation, there was nothing supernatural or even unusual about it. It was pretty typical of many I have attended over the years. But the meeting gave us a simple, straightforward opportunity to engage with the immutable - unchanging through time, unalterable, ageless - law of God, good: Christian Science. Engagement, even for an hour, with the natural law of harmony, can blow away the gloomy clouds of discord. It certainly did for us. Are you on vacation and looking for a local Christian Science church, society, informal group or Reading Room? Search online. To be sure you don't miss something,
you can have new posts delivered to your email inbox. Simply subscribe in the sidebar. And if this post is meaningful to you, it may also help others. Please share! You may also wish to: VISIT MY WEBSITE HOME PAGE FIND LINKS TO MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT LISTEN TO A COLLECTION OF MY "YOUR DAILY LIFT" 2-MINUTE PODCASTS  In my experience, church and God’s abundant grace are linked. I am grateful to have learned early on that serving God through serving in church brings out good, good, and more good. Paul said, “Your life is hid with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). And I might add, “and if you want to find it, participate in your local church!” Real life, reflecting divine Life, or God, includes the substance of good in abundance and there is nothing like the opportunities to give and serve in a branch Church of Christ, Scientist to bring it out. When I was 18 years old and living in Great Britain, I was desperately low on funds. With two weeks to go before returning to the US, I was down to my last £85... (To read the rest of this blog, find it here on Church Alive.) LINK IS NOW FIXED Church is an idea that has been defined in many ways over the centuries within the Christian tradition. For Christian Scientists, church is much more than a place or a community. Church Alive is a web community that explores the spiritual basis and awakening impact of Church. I hope you enjoy this blog. And if you do, I doubly hope you will share it!
If having a full-text version delivered to your email inbox would interest you, you can find the subscription box in the sidebar. You may also wish to: VISIT MY WEBSITE HOME PAGE FIND LINKS TO MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT  Passion. Whether it is for a special person, a valued project or a life goal – who doesn’t adore that feeling of heightened purpose and breathless, eager anticipation that we call passion? I am not talking about a mere physical reaction or emotional bond. Passion, in its spiritual sense, is the fire of inspiration and pure love for its subject. Many go to great lengths to find something to be truly passionate about. When they do, they hope to sustain the feeling as long as possible. But when the initial fire dies down into embers, does this mean that the love and inspiration is coming to an end? Is there something we can do to fan the flame and rekindle the ardor of inspired commitment to that something or someone we love? In a long relationship between individuals, in a career or with organizations, duty or responsibilty can tend to take the place of joy and spontaneity; and inspired thinking and acting can suffocate under the daily grind. In this case, what we may have once fiercely loved can tend to become a trial of patience and a test of endurance. The Bible offers some insight into what happens when fresh thought fades into habitual patterns of thinking and acting. The apostle John delivered a message from the Revelator - from Jesus Christ - to a church in Ephesus, Greece that had fallen victim to daily routine. He warned: “I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and thou hast… borne and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” (Revelation 2:2-4)  The way I see it, the Revelator commends the fact that they are hanging in there and plugging along. But what happened to the passion of their first love, the fervor for their purpose in laboring, working together? Kindly, John doesn’t leave them to flounder under this diagnosis. He also delivers some sage advice. He says, “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works.” (Revelation 2:5) Here, passion is linked to vision, a spiritual vision involving inspiration. When we recapture the inspiration that initiated or spurred on a good idea or relationship, we have reconnected with the flame – the first love that restores joy and purpose. When actions spring from renewed vision, they act like a fan drawing on a spark until the full blaze is restored. Find inspiration and you find a reason for being. Express the inspiration by doing the “first works” - approaching the relationship with a virgin attitude ("Fresh; new; unused; as virgin soil" - Webster's 1828 Revised Unabridged Dictionary) and the fire tends to spread to those around you. During the first decade of marriage, my husband and I fell comfortably and naturally into the routine of work and family responsibilities. We had a sweet, loving relationship with mostly ups and very few downs. However, as steady and generally smooth as things were, we were still two people evolving at our own pace, with interests and activities that sometimes converged and often diverged. To a certain extent, we had let our relationship become a bit dusty. Nearing our tenth anniversary, I was longing to rediscover the fire of purpose in the relationship.  This wasn’t something I felt I could discuss with my husband. I didn’t know if he was feeling as out of sorts as I was. I certainly didn’t want to hurt him or frighten him by exposing my thoughts too soon. So before I brought anything to his attention, I decided to pray about my marriage – and to pray for my marriage. I had always felt our relationship was a gift from God, so it seemed perfectly normal to take my questions up in prayer. Ours was a marriage formed in prayer. I had been praying daily to see the qualities of God expressed in a life-companion. When I met my husband, I recognized his divine qualities right away. After the marriage and over time, regular, consistent prayer for the marriage dropped off and was replaced by the general day-to-day business of the family. And the vision? The inspiration? The fire and passion? That, too, had slowly faded out as the relationship was more and more deprived of that element of prayer so essential to its formation. So the Revalator's advice to that Ephesus church was on the mark for me. I rediscovered my “first love” through doing the “first works” – practicing again the consistent prayer that had brought us together in the beginning. One of my issues with the marriage concerned the subject of spirituality. This was clearly a big part of my life. For him? Not so much. I was the church goer, he worked on Sundays. I was spiritually hungry - a genuine seeker. He seemed to have no spiritual curiosity whatsoever. So I asked God in prayer, “After ten years together, are we really on completely different life paths? Is there anything that we can do to bring these two different tracks together?”  As I did some spiritual study on the subject of marriage, I came across a statement that provoked me to wake-up. It is in Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures – a book that really brings the Bible’s message to life. On page 90, she writes, “The admission to one's self that man is God's own likeness sets man free to master the infinite idea.” I had been thinking that if only my husband would change, or admit to himself that he was spiritual, we could rediscover our bond. Now I realized it didn’t depend on him at all. He wasn’t the one thinking he wasn’t very spiritual. That was my issue. I saw that if I admitted to myself that my husband was God’s own likeness, this would set us both free to master the infinite possibilities of our marriage. I took up daily prayer to watch for, and be a witness to, my husband’s spirituality, and I began to notice so many of his spiritual qualities. Marriage, to me, became a full-on commitment to witnessing to the best in each another. My sense of marriage was reborn. I discovered that the passion I had been seeking was present in direct proportion to my prayers and spiritual witnessing. Our life together was once again full of joy and inspiration. I never said a word to him about this prayer and spiritual renewal, because my struggles on the subject were between me and God. But he noted that the marriage was better than ever, and he was right. Prayer isn’t just last minute emergency life-support. Prayer can be a permanent life-link to a passionate expression of Life, God. If you are looking for more passion in your life, for renewal of commitment, and fresh joy in your familly, your work, your church, I highly recommend a regimen of prayer that opens you to see more of the divine expressed in and around you. The admission to yourself that you and those in your midst are God’s own likeness, can set you free to live a truly inspired life – aflame with divine Love. This post first appeared on this blog under the title "Aflame with Divine Love" on November 2, 2011. It has been revised and new links have been added. If you find this post interesting or helpful, please share it!
Also, it is quite easy to subscribe to the blog if you would enjoy receiving updates. Simply put your email address in the box provided in the righthand column and click "Subscribe me!" You may also wish to: VISIT MY WEBSITE HOME PAGE FIND A LIST OF MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT 1/9/2012 Prayer for the home team As the football playoff games started up yesterday in the States, a Facebook friend said that when asked if she prays for football games, she responds, "Yes, I do! I pray for the home team!" I chuckled, because I had just had similar thoughts that morning about my church - I pray for the "home team" of spiritual seekers who attend.
Not everyone interested in spirituality is drawn to church. I, however, am an avid churchgoer. In fact, what keeps me coming back is a little rule in our church about prayer. Prayers in Christian Science churches are to be "offered for the congregations collectively and exclusively." (Church Manual 42:1) Now one might say, wait a minute! Why a rule instructing who or what to pray for in church? Why wouldn't you pray for yourself, your sick pet, or for harmonious elections in the Congo? The answer relates to what we are up to the rest of the week. |
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I have practiced Christian Science professionally in some form since 1979. But my journey with Christian Science started in a Sunday school where as a young child I was taught the Scriptures and some simple basics of Jesus' method of scientific Christian healing. A significant experience at the age of twelve opened my eyes to the great potential of this practice. After impaling my foot on a nail, I prayed the way I had learned in Sunday school. Within moments the pain stopped and healing began. By the next morning the wound had disappeared completely. Having experienced the great potential of Christian Science, there would be no turning back. |
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