Upon reading the articles on Church in the October 2010 issue of the Journal, I was so moved that I felt impelled to share an experience that showed the power of the spiritual understanding of Church in my own life.
Years ago, while I was teaching the youngest Sunday School class, there had been some difficulties concerning child behavior. Things were so difficult week after week that I had vowed I would call the superintendent and ask her to replace me. However, I never made that call, and now in hindsight (as I see God’s purpose in all of this) it is easy to see why.
In order to have a more harmonious class, I had been praying deeply to get a better grasp on the task set before me. One Sunday morning, I was praying with this passage in Science and Health: “Church. The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle.” The second portion of this spiritual definition literally came alive to me: “The Church is that institution, which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick” (p. 583). Four words in this verse stood out to me: institution, utility, elevating, and rousing.
