Articles

When I went through Christian Science Primary class instruction—a two-week course on Christian Science—I came away more aware of the importance of the two “great commandments” that Christ Jesus spoke about: love God and love man (your neighbor as yourself; see Matthew 22:35–39 ).   I could see how obedience to this divine law is necessary, but I couldn’t get past the “how” of loving my neighbor, my fellow man.

The natural world often displays great beauty. Whether it’s a vibrant-colored sunset, the grace of a soaring raptor, the grandeur and might of a waterfall, or the delicate beauty of a wildflower, chances are we’ve all been inspired by such scenery at one time or another.

At a time of great need in our family several years ago, I happened to pick up at the local Christian Science Reading Room a little pamphlet with the meaningful title “ Triumph of Good . ” The pamphlet reprinted a number of articles and testimonies of healing from this denomination’s publications, including two testimonies originally published in this magazine in 1955.

Fluctuations in the economy , unexpected market turns, some professions becoming obsolete while others require new skills and resources—all of these present just part of the complicated picture of circumstances that today seem to underlie individual, national, and global uncertainty.   But is there a secure source of supply, an inexhaustible resource to which we can turn that will never run out or become obsolete? Can we find today a secure foundation for life and happiness and continuing progress?  Thankfully, the answer is a resounding yes! It comes from what might at first seem to be an unexpected source—the spiritual nature of man and his unbreakable relationship to God, who is revealed through the teachings of the Bible and Christian Science to be the source of all good.

In high school I got caught up in a culture of drinking and smoking cigarettes. The teens in my community spent a lot of time at football games, basketball games, and parties, where alcohol was often present.

From deep in my heart comes gratitude for Christian Science Reading Rooms and for the unselfish individuals who staff them so that the healing comfort of Christian Science is readily available in communities all over the world. When my husband and I were in Nuremberg, Germany, a few years ago, I awoke one morning feeling very ill.

The following is an edited excerpt of the 2016 Annual Meeting Church Activities Workshop, held on June 4 in the Extension of The Mother Church and broadcast live online. To listen to the complete replay, visit christianscience.

Most Christian Science practitioners have probably had a patient say something like: “Well, I’ve read the Bible Lesson and I’ve looked up the citations you gave me from the Bible and the writings of Mary Baker Eddy. Mentally I feel really inspired, but the body has not changed.

What is the “stuff” we’re made of? The answer is often sought in analyzing the structures of matter—the elementary particles, atoms, molecules, compounds, and mixtures that obey physical laws. Even our consciousness has been described by scientific opinion and popular assumption as a highly evolved outcome of inanimate matter.

For years I wondered about the meaning of the first beatitude—“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” ( Matthew 5:3 ). Why is being poor in spirit such a blessed state? Finally I allowed myself to take a more spiritual approach to the words.