Q: Is it compulsory to read the weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson every day? I ask because sometimes I feel like picking up a Christian Science Journal or Sentinel instead. Although part of me feels it is an individual choice, another part feels it is a duty to read it daily. I feel torn between these perspectives. —A reader in Lagos, Nigeria
A1: Something I love about Christian Science is that it is the revelation of divine Love; the Comforter for all. One of the fruits of the all-embracing nature of this Science is that there are no rituals one must follow in order to access God. From the bold introduction to the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father which art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9), to Mary Baker Eddy’s statement in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “Unfathomable Mind is expressed. The depth, breadth, height, might, majesty, and glory of infinite Love fill all space. That is enough!” (p. 520), we are assured that as God’s cherished ideas, we are never separate from all good.
If reading the weekly Bible Lesson were a ritual though, then that would essentially make it a gateway to God. Far from being a conduit to go through to get to God, the Bible Lesson is a timeless gift of Truth, revealing insights in fresh ways that bring healing to our own experience and to others we may meet.
