Article May 12, 1928 Issue

Watching

ROBERT W. SHELMIRE

God's watchful and tender care of His children is typified in the Bible by the shepherd watching over his sheep. The much loved twenty-third and ninety-first psalms appeal to us especially as affording examples of Love's care and protection. The well-known words spoken by Laban to Jacob, "The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another," may be taken as an indication of the desire these men had for divine help in maintaining harmonious relations between themselves. Similar prayers have arisen in the hearts of men since the days of Jacob, and are being made to-day for peace between individuals and nations. Christian Scientists do not doubt that God is faithfully watching over His entire creation, or that peace will be established throughout the earth when mortals accept the government of God, the one Mind.

God demands of men that they express the quality of vigilance; and a study of the Bible will clearly indicate ways in which they can and should watch. Sometimes the watching is for the protection of one's self, one's family, or one's property from injury or destruction at the hands of enemies. At other times the word has been used as signifying being mentally awake or watchful of one's thought. Real watching always implies mental alertness, in the case of the sentry on guard, the porter at the door, or the flagman at the railway crossing. And when confronted by that common phrase, "Watch your step," we can add mentally the words of Mrs. Eddy (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 129), "Trust God to direct your steps."

Watching implies waiting, but neither watching nor waiting implies idleness. Waiting must be done with patience and prayer, knowing only the ever-presence of Love and Truth. Scientifically to watch, one must be alert, careful, vigilant, patient, and prayerful. This is quite the opposite of idleness; it is work—the work in which Christian Scientists are engaged continuously.

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May 12, 1928
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