A friend of mine commented recently, "Church work isn't hardware, as most people think; it's all software!" What my friend was pointing out was that the primary key to our success as a Church does not merely depend upon the building, the paperwork, or committee meetings. Rather, the success of our Church hinges upon the inward purification and regeneration of our own individual thought and lives, and the willingness to bring those fruits to bear on all that we do.
The manner in which our Way-shower, Christ, Jesus, conducted his daily affairs points us in the proper direction to fulfilling wholly our own mission to mankind. An example of what Jesus gave primary importance to in fulfilling his mission is illustrated in the eighth chapter of Luke. He met a man named Jairus, whose daughter was dying. On his way to her, he came upon a woman who had been ill for twelve years. He healed the woman, saying, "Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole." Luke 8:48. He didn't say, "I've got to run now. I'll be back later if I have time!" He was single-minded in his receptive obedience to God's guidance. And that obedience enabled him not only to heal this case but also that of the young girl. He took every opportunity God gave him to heal and to help.
Jesus' receptivity, obedience, and compassionate love brought healing to both of these situations—and they have everything to do with our own ability as a Church to meet the diverse demands for healing in our world. In Miscellaneous Writings, Mrs. Eddy writes, "We should measure our love for God by our love for man; and our sense of Science will be measured by our obedience to God,—fulfilling the law of Love, doing good to all; imparting, so far as we reflect them, Truth, Life, and Love to all within the radius of our atmosphere of thought." Mis., p. 12.
