A QUESTION THAT CAME TO MIND at a Wednesday evening testimony meeting revolutionized my understanding of the role of church in the community. As I listened to the readings from the Bible and Science and Health, I was impressed with the idea that God moved the hearts of the people in the Bible to discover their relationship with Him. This question then occurred to me as I sat in the large turn-of-the-twentieth-century church surrounded by a number of empty seats: Could it be that God had stopped moving the hearts of the people to find Him, or that God was not moving as many hearts as He once had?
Certainly, God, who is Love, would not withhold love from His own creation or love less at one time than at another. Therefore, God in His infinite love must continuously stir the hearts of mankind to awaken them to their inherent spirituality. God lovingly compels each hungering heart to find the truth of being. The role of the church in the community, then, is not to create a perfect human institution to attract attendees. The role of the church is to be a joyous witness to the persistent, powerful action of divine Love moving the hearts of mankind.
When Jesus spoke, thousands were naturally drawn to hear his message. Yet Jesus himself said, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him," and "I can of mine own self do nothing" (John 6:44 and 5:30). Jesus didn't consider himself to be the source or the power of the good he demonstrated. He gave all the glory to God. His purpose was to be a witness to the ever-present and ever-active goodness and power of God, to make this power so evident to mankind that all people could discover the true power behind their own existence.
A church built on the rock, the knowledge of Christ and the practice of Christly affection, is likewise an active witness to the power of God. By virtue of this, every prayer of every church member that acknowledges God as the only power, every earnest desire that turns to God with the expectation of receiving help, every thought of gratitude for the presence of God's love in one's life, is church in action, a joyous testimony to the power of divine Spirit meeting the needs of mankind.
Have you felt the touch of divine Love in some small way this week? Even if your experience seems modest, go ahead and share it at a Wednesday evening testimony meeting. I know it will be just what another attendee needs to hear to be awakened to the action of God in his or her life. I have often been deeply touched and uplifted by the most humble testimonies of healing related at these meetings. On page 621 of Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy, in the chapter "Fruitage," a person describes stumbling on a Wednesday evening meeting after having been painfully ill for many years. The individual said, "Sick, weary, doubting, and despairing, I accidentally went into a Christian Science church in New York City, on a Wednesday evening, not knowing what kind of a place it was." This was no accident. That person was subsequently freed from suffering that had lasted 15 years. God does and will continue to bring hungering hearts to your church. When they come, will you be there with a simple message of gratitude for the power of God in your life?
A church is not separate from the community where it's located. All of God's children are one with God, so they must also be one with each other. The spiritual progress of one idea blesses all ideas. Each individual's sincere desire to know God better has a positive impact on the whole community. In Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy writes, "The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man who seeth his brother's need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another's good" (p. 518).
The tenth chapter of the book of Acts in the Bible contains an interesting account of God's unfoldment of progress in the lives of those who seek to know Him better. A man named Cornelius, a Gentile who loved God and had devoted himself to serving God, has a vision while praying. In the vision Cornelius sees an angel who directs him to send for Simon Peter. The angel promises Cornelius that when Peter comes, he will tell him what he should do. Cornelius immediately sends two of his servants and a soldier to find Peter, who is staying in Joppa, about a day's journey from Cornelius's home.
In the meantime, Peter had gone up to the rooftop to pray. As he prays, he has a vision of a sheet containing all varieties of animals descending from the sky, and he hears a voice tell him, "Rise, Peter; kill, and eat" (verse 13). But Peter refuses, saying he has never eaten anything common or unclean. The voice replies, "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common" (verse 15). This vision is repeated three times. As Peter contemplates what the meaning of this vision might be, he is called down from the roof because the men Cornelius has sent have arrived. Prompted by the vision to break with tradition, Peter welcomes the men into his home and on the following day travels with them to preach Christ to the Gentiles.
The sincere prayers of Cornelius enabled Peter to find the courage and understanding to spread the good news to the Gentiles. And the sincere prayers of Peter opened the way for Cornelius to learn about Christ Jesus. But who impelled those prayers? God! God moved the hearts of both men—one who was advanced in his practice of Christianity and one who had never heard of Christ Jesus—to progress spiritually, together. Each man needed the other. Likewise, each church needs its community and the community needs that church. There's no telling exactly what Peter may have been praying about before this vision came to him, but he must have had a strong conviction that God would reveal whatever he needed to know. That's a good starting point for our prayers, too.
As we pray, let's begin with the strong conviction that God will reveal whatever is needed—to us, to our church, and to individuals in our community. God, in His infinite love, is moving the hearts of all mankind, nurturing the spirituality of all His children, guiding our understanding, and revealing the powerful spiritual connection that already exists between our church and its community.
Each church needs its community and the community needs that church.
In a letter to First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Denver, Mary Baker Eddy wrote, "Exercise more faith in God and His spiritual means and methods, than in man and his material ways and means, of establishing the Cause of Christian Science" (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, pp. 152–153). Our faith in God will grow as we joyfully bear witness to the compelling action of God moving the hearts of all people. As this conviction gains depth in our thinking we will no longer be tempted to accept the false suggestions that imply the vitality and relevance of church has been diminished. The love of God for His creation is unstoppable. It impels the spiritual growth of mankind and upholds the church.
