Church—what a marvel! Founded on the "Rock of Ages." The very evidence of Christ, Truth, alive and here today! How can we explain it, take it all in, let it into our lives? A tall order. Yet it's well for us to think deeply and incisively about the true Church.
A key point is to distinguish clearly between the perfect, spiritual Church and mankind's less-than-perfect understanding and demonstration of it—between the divine idea and its indispensable human expression.
Why indispensable? Because the divinity of the Church, like the divinity of the Christ, must be made manifest in the humanity of the institution.See Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, 25:31-32. Otherwise you and I would have no tangible proof of what the real Church is. God's great love for us must be demonstrated in a practical affection reaching into every corner of our lives to save and heal. The spiritual idea of Church has come to us in a form that we can plainly see and make sense of right where we are. Its application is as varied as human need, but universally one in Principle.
