When worldly beliefs become more and more aggressive and obnoxious, it becomes obvious that we can't stand on the sidelines in the contest between good and evil. It's essential to exercise our spiritual power and burnish anew the armaments of Spirit. Every weapon we have should be brought into full use. Mrs. Eddy points the way. She says: "The systematized centres of Christian Science are life-giving fountains of truth. Our churches, The Christian Science Journal, and the Christian Science Quarterly, are prolific sources of spiritual power whose intellectual, moral, and spiritual animus is felt throughout the land." Miscellaneous Writings, p. 113;
What could be more needed in our present situation than the animus of Spirit breaking through the hypnotism of material sense and revealing the spiritual status of man in the likeness of God? Many are the temptations to believe in materialism in its various forms, but certainly this is no time to temporize—to be impressed with error or to stand in awe of it. Each one can utilize the spiritual forces at hand. He can consistently handle animal magnetism, or evil, maintain his freedom to think and act under God's direction, and defend himself against limitation, enslavement, and disability.
Because the Christian Science church service is one of the prominent spiritual forces in our society today, we can never afford to lose sight of its utility and power. There has been the attempt of mortal, material thinking to denigrate religion and to subvert the influence of the Church. There's been the attempt of well-meaning religionists to debilitate the spiritual animus through secularization of the activities of the Church. But nothing should be allowed to divert our attention and effort from the main thrust—the spiritualization of our thought. This in turn results in the healing of sin and sickness in individuals and in society. Healing is a basic function of the Church of Christ, Scientist, and it's accomplished only through keeping the clear spiritual animus ever before our thought.
Mrs. Eddy tells us in Science and Health, "Our church is built on the divine Principle, Love." Science and Health, p. 35; Based on divine Principle, our church manifests the power of Principle. However modest our attempts to express Church, the Christ, the idea of divine Principle, is at hand. "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matt. 18:20; Christ is the spiritual animus ever present with us, and we can feel its presence. It's the activity of the Christ that demesmerizes our consciousness and liberates us from doubt and fear. It's Christ, Truth, that destroys false belief, lifts thought away from materialism and violence, and secures the safety and protection that each one needs. More than ever before the utility of our church should be apparent.
Part of Mrs. Eddy's definition of "Church" is, "Whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle." Science and Health, 583; Divine Principle is the source of power. It's the source of life. Hence nothing can interfere with the vitality of Church. It rests upon the divine Principle of the universe. It stems from the divine cause. It's up to us to understand this spiritual impetus as it impels our individual manifestation of Church. The scientific relationship of cause and effect sustains our efforts. We can prove that every church service is under the care and guidance of God.
Sometimes we find that members aren't too willing to serve in branch church activities. For one reason or another there's a reluctance to commit themselves to this most important Cause. But this is no time to hesitate or to lose our momentum. More than ever before we need the "intellectual, moral, and spiritual animus" that's expressed in the church service. No claim of division, no personal sense, should divert our attention from the main purpose—to realize the healing and regenerating Christ in our midst. Now more than ever the vitality of Church should be the subject of our careful and earnest attention.
Wherever the vitality of Church seems lacking, we need to refresh our thought on the source and substance of Church, its unity and integrity. It's the expression of Life. Actually, Church, the spiritual idea, is immortal, indestructible. More than a building where services are held or a group of people assembled, Church is a living force, a divine idea. It moves. It moves us. It expresses the animating power of divine Principle. It expresses the Love that heals and saves. Nothing can stand in the way of this divine Principle asserting itself.
Healing is a normal effect of the activity of divine Principle, and it's a normal part of the church service. If thought is mesmerized by some belief of sin or disease, the activity of divine Principle, unfolding the truth of being, can dispel this false influence. The Christ is present and is manifest in the Lesson-Sermon, in the Christian Science Quarterly; in the prayers, in the hymns, in the testimonies. This spiritual animus reveals the relationship of God and man, cause and effect. It harmonizes our thought and life, dispels false beliefs, and liberates us from error. With our preparatory study, our unselfish prayerful support of the service, with our response to the Lesson-Sermon, we can feel the results of this divine influence operating throughout the church service.
Certainly those who are actively engaged in the service can feel the sustaining power of divine Principle. This activity is God's business, and when we approach it from the standpoint that man is the reflection of God, the activity of divine Love, then there's nothing to fear. We're under the care of the Almighty, and we can be free to express Truth naturally and meaningfully. The Love that motivates the service will care for and harmonize the activity involved. And it will protect those engaged in this activity. Unity, harmony, healing, and praise—these are the spiritual forces that give evidence of the divine impetus. They prove "God with us," Matt. 1:23. and this in turn brings healing and regeneration to all.
