In an era of religious and political despotism, the teachings of Christ Jesus came as a ray of hope to the oppressed, an intellectual challenge to the learned, and a rebuke to the hypocrite. To the materialistic thinker, expecting the coming of a temporal ruler and the establishment of an earthly kingdom, it was unprecedented to be told that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, followed by the even more surprising statement that it was actually within one.
At no time did Jesus intimate that there was a time element or waiting period involved in his healing ministry. On the contrary, he emphasized the immediacy of good and wisely chose a comparison that was meaningful to his hearers by admonishing them (John 4:35), "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."
The economy of Palestine was agrarian, and the harvest was an occasion of vital importance. Drought, insects, or war frequently damaged the crops or eliminated them altogether, and a successful harvest of material food was indispensable to the survival of the populace. The prospect of an immediate harvest of spiritual food was welcome news, albeit somewhat beyond their comprehension.
The Apostle Paul, as well as the personal followers of Jesus, continued to urge the teachings of Jesus as a present possibility. "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation," wrote Paul to the Corinthians (II Cor. 6:2), and elsewhere the writings of the New Testament are replete with the idea that now is the time to accept and experience the rich and satisfying rewards of Christian living.
And what more reassuring statement could greet the sincere seeker for Truth than the opening sentence of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," where our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, writes (Pref., p. vii), "To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings." Today! Not tomorrow or next year.
The past is gone, never to return. The present is ours to use wisely and well. The future is before us, forever unfolding, and what we achieve in the future depends to a great extent on our intelligent use of the present.
Especially in connection with our progress as Christian Scientists and church members, it is important that we be alert to the ever-available present and utilize it. After a student has experienced a physical healing or found the solution to some other problem through the study and correct application of Christian Science, he will logically want to know more of the truth that has healed him and how to progress in the study and practice of this Science. He should be alert to the opportunity for membership in The Mother Church and in a branch church.
The extent of the student's knowledge is not nearly so vital as his sincerity and receptivity. The meeting with the executive board or with the membership committee of a branch church should be a happy occasion, at which the applicant is welcomed and given an opportunity to ask as well as to answer questions. His potentialities are much more important than the memorized words of definitions and well-known passages in the Bible and in our Leader's writings.
Having attained church membership, the new member should welcome activity in the branch church. Church work is indispensable to the cause of Christian Science and to the spiritual growth of the individual. Indeed, no student can separate his individual growth and prosperity from the growth and prosperity of his branch church and the Christian Science movement as a whole. "God requires our whole heart, and He supplies within the wide channels of The Mother Church dutiful and sufficient occupation for all its members" (Manual of The Mother Church by Mrs. Eddy, Art. VIII, Sect. 15).
While the responsible work of Readers and board members calls for the more seasoned workers, there are many places in which the new member is needed, and in these he can be active and useful, thus utilizing the ever-available present.
Progress thrives on action and perishes without it. The unused talent is subject to dissolution and loss, but the talent that is put to good use produces a bountiful harvest. Church work offers many opportunities to overcome any sense of limitation that may have impeded our progress in the past, and this overcoming invariably results in greater progress in our personal experience.
Shortly after joining a branch church, a young student of Christian Science experienced an acute period of unemployment and financial distress. Several appointments to church work were declined because of discouragement, lack of interest, and the belief that church activity might conflict with business activity. It was then lovingly pointed out to the student that our real employment is to be about our Father's business and that this real employment is evidenced in the serving of our branch church actively.
Shortly thereafter she was asked to serve on the collection tellers committee. In explaining the work of the committee, the chairman called her attention to this fact: it was the responsibility and duty of every member of the committee, in addition to the active work of counting the Sunday collection, to do daily metaphysical work in support of supply for the church.
Opening her thinking to church work simultaneously opened the way to more prosperity in her personal affairs, for soon an opportunity for extra work after regular business hours presented itself, and in a short time the financial problem was completely solved.
The progressive student of Christian Science will be mindful of the advantages of class instruction and of the fact that one may take this important step early in his branch church experience. Although no arbitrary length of time can be established and some students are ready sooner than others, it is well to be open-minded as to its present possibility instead of regarding it as a reward at the end of the journey.
Our Leader was divinely guided in the establishment of all the activities of our movement, including class instruction, as provided for in the Manual. The student who avails himself of this priceless privilege early in his career will be better equipped to help himself and others, to serve the Cause of Christian Science, and to progress more rapidly than the student who postpones class instruction for many years.
In considering the subject of making the most of the present, the writer has found it very helpful to give loving consideration to our Leader's article "Fidelity" in "Miscellaneous Writings," where she states (p. 340): "There is no excellence without labor; and the time to work, is now. Only by persistent, unremitting, straightforward toil; by turning neither to the right nor to the left, seeking no other pursuit or pleasure than that which cometh from God, can you win and wear the crown of the faithful."
