One day I bumped into a friend who is also a Christian Scientist. When she asked what I had been up to recently, I told her that I was the First Reader of my local branch Church of Christ, Scientist. With a warm smile, she said, “That is the safest place you can ever be.” Her words were like a staff that I leaned on during the entire time I served as First Reader.
Over the years, I have heard concerns from friends who believed that if you accepted a high-profile position, you could become a target for resentment or malicious thought. Their voicing this belief alerted me to begin praying about the role of First Reader right away and not allow any sense of vulnerability to take hold in my thought. How could I be in danger if I was serving God?
I knew there were many examples of people in the Bible who had served God and whose lives were completely protected because they listened to and relied on God. Daniel was protected from the lions, Moses parted the sea so the Israelites could escape the Egyptians, and the three Hebrew men who were thrown into the furnace walked out safely, without even the smell of smoke leaving any trace.
