A Missionary came upon an Armenian who recited to him the entire Sermon on the Mount. To the Armenian this was a natural achievement; for he had memorized it one verse at a time, then lived it among his neighbors until he had proved it as his own. What a joy it must have been to be a neighbor of such a man! An illuminated sign in a churchyard once bore this pertinent observation: "The light that shines farthest shines brightest nearest home."
Christian Scientists need to be awake these days to their opportunity of sharing their enlightenment with Christendom. The signs are unmistakable that the Christian world is more receptive than ever before. It is no time for us to draw into our shells, fraternizing only with each other. We should watch that we do not become, shall we say, selfish shellfish, dwelling within our own mental confines. Our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, says (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 295), "Christian Scientists are fishers of men."
The members of our family were attracted to Christian Science because two Scientists quietly lived their faith before us. How we admired them! Uniformly calm, kindly, thoughtful, helpful. Seldom, if ever, ill. Minus the unlovely habits we tried so hard, so vainly, to break. Never proselyting; never bringing their beloved Science into the conversation until we asked about it. Then, what loving cooperation! They bent every effort to help us find our true selfhood, lending us the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, showing us how to study the Lesson-Sermons, inviting us to lectures and church services, and answering our countless questions with references from the textbooks. That kind of light-shining has been the salvation of many readers of these lines. This kind of student does not live unto himself. He is mindful of our Leader's admonition (Miscellany, p. 158), "The burden of proof that Christian Science is Science rests on Christian Scientists."
