Through my school years, I heard that question quite a bit as classmates learned that I was a Christian Scientist. All they’d ever heard was that Christian Scientists didn’t go to doctors. Many don’t; some do—there is no church edict on that subject. It is left to each person to decide how to best care for themselves. But the question, “What would you do if . . . ?” was always followed by some hair-raising scenario.
Rather than dreading the question, I learned to embrace it as an opportunity to give the facts about Christian Science and to respond with, “Let me tell you what I did when . . . .” Then I would share a healing accomplished through prayer. Because one can’t really argue with proof, these conversations were always enlightening and satisfying. We would all learn something new. There is no end to the good that can be accomplished when the facts of Christian Science are shared with a healing.
One of my mottoes is: “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (I Peter 3:15). Fear, in this case, meaning reverence. I love that. Humble sharing that comes from a deep reverence for God and respect for the listener is an act of love. And as someone I know says, “When one feels your love, they’ll hear your words.”
