I sometimes ask myself, What thoughts am I entertaining about Church? I know that what I cherish in thought has a direct bearing on what I see expressed. Welcoming within our hearts the fact that Church is a spiritual idea, not a physical structure, can mean that wherever we are, we take Church with us and can never be separated from it. We also see it expressed within our beloved brethren, who are precious in God's sight.
You may have been a church member of many year's standing; on the other hand, you may be considering joining a church for the first time. You could also be in a locality where there is no church you can attend, or perhaps you are part of a fledgling group starting a church. No matter, what is really important is the love and sincerity that lie behind your prayer, your most heartfelt desires, and your pure motives in cherishing Church. These are known to God and rewarded by Him. Did not our Master say, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them"? Matt. 18:20. Jesus did not specify large numbers or a particular location. Where Christ, Truth, is expressed, spiritual treasures flow in abundance, and Church is found.
The Christ must enter receptive hearts before it enters church buildings. The Christ is expressed in humility, gentleness, patience, and spiritual love. The Founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist, Mary Baker Eddy, writes succinctly, "Our proper reason for church edifices is, that in them Christians may worship God,—not that Christians may worship church edifices!" The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 162.
The Christ attracts now as surely as when the Master walked this planet. The essence of church work is Christ expressed in individual lives. As the Christ is a vital presence in our thoughts and actions, God will show us ways to reach out to bless our neighbors. That which you think you need for the building of a church is already within you in the spiritual understanding God bestows on each of His children. As we realize that the qualities of Church—including faithfulness, inspiration, consecration—are already within consciousness and forever expressed, we will see them take root and grow in our communities as we put them into practice.
The power of individual Christian thought and practice is paramount in the cherishing of Church. In her book Pulpit and Press, Mrs. Eddy writes, "Is not a man metaphysically and mathematically number one, a unit, and therefore whole number, governed and protected by his divine Principle, God?" Later, the same paragraph says: "A dewdrop reflects the sun. Each of Christ's little ones reflects the infinite One, and therefore is the seer's declaration true, that 'one on God's side is a majority.'" Pul., p. 4.
I often consider the time when Elijah was one of the last prophets left in Israel. See I Kings, chaps. 18, 19 . Israel was the only nation in the world to worship the one true God. Carnal-mindedness was poised to crush out Truth. But Truth cannot be lost, and Elijah knew this. He stood firm in his convictions. History records many occasions when people of vision have been required to stand quietly and bear witness to Truth's all-power. Sometimes we have to be like Elijah, standing firm no matter how few seem to notice. Recalling that the first Christian Science Sunday service she ever attended was in the parlor of Mrs. Eddy's home at 8 Broad Street, Lynn, Massachusetts, Julia S. Bartlett wrote: "There were about twenty people present. Mrs. Eddy preached the sermon which healed a young woman sitting near me of an old chronic trouble which physicians were unable to heal. Her husband, who was present with her, went to Mrs. Eddy the next day to thank her for what had been done for his wife. That was the greatest sermon I ever heard, but few were there to hear it." We Knew Mary Baker Eddy (Boston: The Christian Science Publishing Society, 1979), p. 32 .
In her work of establishing Christian Science, Mrs. Eddy was deserted many times by pupils of hers. There were some occasions on which it appeared that pupils' successes could be more undermining to their spiritual development than their failures. But Mrs. Eddy did not underestimate the power of God, of divine Mind, in unmasking and defeating the enemy; she both uncovered the foe of Church—the carnal mind, or animal magnetism—and showed humanity the tools that enable one to deal with it. The one Mind is omnipotent and omniscient good and eliminates the belief in a power or intelligence apart from God. We can prove the power of divine Mind to enliven and strengthen our work for Church.
If there is a holdup in a church building plan, a lack of unity, or a decline in membership, these are claims of animal magnetism, resistance to Truth, in whatever guise. But evil is an impersonal lie, and it has no influence over us unless we believe it has power and react to its claims. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ... Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us," Rom. 8:35, 37. writes Paul. How wonderful that we are more than conquerors! Being a conqueror would be enough, but we are more than conquerors through Christ's dear love for us. This is reason for rejoicing!
The Church is an outward expression of the membership's spiritual vision—of light cherished within and lived each day.
The first page of the chapter "Prayer" in Science and Health says, "Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds." Science and Health, p. 1. Our desire for a flourishing church needs to "be moulded and exalted" by God, and this requires a letting go of human will on our part. The desire to see an active church or to be part of one needs to be raised up and given over to trust in the divine Mind. God knows better than we do how our particular needs are best met. This letting go may require some mental tussling with self. What is eventually returned to us, however, is the gold of spiritual progress, for the flames of divine Love consume the dross of material resistance.
Are you ready for this process? Are you ready to recognize your long-held misconceptions of Church, to let go of them, and to replace them with more spiritual conceptions? If so, the molding and exalting power of Spirit will bring to your experience a newness and vitality. When thought is pure we are in communion with God. As the natural expression of this communion brings healing into our lives, we see the blessings God has for those who love Him. The motive power behind God's Church is spiritual and cannot be compromised. We have to bring our thinking into line with His love in order to see His Church revealed.
The "Historical Sketch" in the Manual of The Mother Church states, "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., is designed to be built on the Rock, Christ; even the understanding and demonstration of divine Truth, Life, and Love, healing and saving the world from sin and death; thus to reflect in some degree the Church Universal and Triumphant." Manual, p. 19. Mrs. Eddy's Church grew from unselfed love. The Christian Science movement is a movement that flourishes through unselfed love.
Why do we want a church? The answer from within the heart might go something like this: to glorify God and bear witness to Truth; to engage in a God-given opportunity to work together to reach out and bless our fellowman with the love wherewith we are all loved. The Church of Christ, Scientist, is like a light shining in the darkness, a beacon of hope and a refuge for the weary spiritual traveler. It is evidence of divine Love expressing itself in the broadest sense, embracing all of humanity. A lighthouse stands in all weather, and its purpose is to shine for those traveling at sea. The Church is an outward expression of the membership's spiritual vision—of light cherished within and lived each day.
