Articles

Mary Baker Eddy is the Leader of the Christian Science movement. But what, exactly, does this mean? It certainly was a hard concept for me to grasp when I first became interested in Christian Science as a college student.

Throughout my childhood up until my first two years of college, I faithfully attended Sunday School. Although I loved my classmates and enjoyed my teachers, I often took these classes for granted, and I didn’t think much about what it would mean to leave Sunday School when I turned twenty.

Matthew and Luke both tell the story of Christ Jesus’ birth, and reading these Gospels side by side enriches and deepens the Christmas season. The two writers use different material to tell their stories and have different perspectives.

A FEW YEARS AGO , my family and I experienced many changes in our lives. We sold our home to enable us to purchase a larger residence and become three generations under one roof.

I WISH I COULD SAY my first response to Mary Baker Eddy's textbook, Science and Health, was something like, "Oh wow, this is exactly what I've been searching for all my life!" Well, that was how I felt by the time I'd finished reading the first chapter. But my very first reaction — after an initial casual flick through the book— was more like, "What does it mean, matter's not real?" I was twenty years old at the time, living away from home for the first time, and struggling, as I had for some years, with increasingly frequent bouts of depression and anxiety.

In these pages we've gathered several shorter items— articles of less than a page in length and excerpts from longer manuscripts that offer useful, inspiring insights. We hope you enjoy this kind of short-form nourishment in each issue.

WHEN MY CHILDREN WERE YOUNG, I worked in business, was a full-time student, volunteered in a parent-teacher association, and served in church. I managed my days in tiny increments of time, and I used time that other people didn't.

THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS AS THEY APPEAR TO THE EYE . We often have to go deeper to get the real story.

ON MY DESK I have a rather harrowing sticky note that I authored myself. It says, "Will the decisions I make today and the actions I take: (1) Make my life more comfortable and entertaining or (2) Forward universal humanity's salvation?" It's a harrowing note because of how easy it is to find myself leaning a little far, and a little too frequently, toward the (1) side of the equation rather than toward (2).

OF ALL THE PARABLES JESUS TOLD, this short one has meant more to me than any other: "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it" ( Matt. 13:45, 46 ).