What a happy opportunity it is to be a Reader in a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, a society, or a college organization! If we approach the appointment with eagerness to serve and a deep appreciation for our pastor—the Bible and Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy—we will bring poise and security to our reading.
Mrs. Eddy writes, "By adhering to the realities of eternal existence,—instead of reading disquisitions on the inconsistent supposition that death comes in obedience to the law of life, and that God punishes man for doing good,—one cannot suffer as the result of any labor of love, but grows stronger because of it."Science and Health, p. 387. A keynote to maintaining joy in reading is being sure that love for God and Christian Science is the basic motive. Our desire to serve should not be based on a disguised ambition for prestigious position, use of the platform as a sounding board for a personal point of view, or a need for income.
To afford a continuing joy, the Readers must be, in effect, God-appointed— elected as the result of prayer by the church membership. Social amenities or popularity should yield to moral and spiritual qualifications. The office remains the same, whoever is serving in it, and through prayer both Readers and congregation can establish in thought the fact that qualities, not personality, define the office. These attributes derive from God, Mind. They include purity, consecration, unselfed love, strength, compassion. As church members, praying before and during the election of Readers, understand that these attributes are already included in the office, they will discern the individual who best expresses them and is ready for the opportunity.
