Article December 15, 1934 Issue

Our Reading Rooms

MURIEL ASHCROFT BILLINGS

It is always a joyous experience to visit a Christian Science Reading Room, wherein we may find spiritual refreshment. As a lighthouse serves as a guide to seamen at night, so the Reading Rooms aid those travelers who are searching for a haven from the sea of material sense. On page 566 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy speaks of the Red Sea, through which the children of Israel were divinely guided, as "the dark ebbing and flowing tides of human fear." The problem of one searching for relief from the bondage of material sense may sometimes seem like the battle with the elements experienced by the mariner seeking port in time of storm. The waves may threaten, and darkness fall, but the lighthouse still casts its friendly beam.

Many seekers after Truth are led into Christian Science through visiting a Christian Science Reading Room. Many may come to the Reading Rooms when for various reasons they might not at first attend the church services. Recently the librarian of a Reading Room rejoiced with a visitor who expressed his gratitude for the privilege of spending some time in the Reading Room while working out a problem. He had received healing not only of unemployment, but also of the smoking habit and the need for wearing glasses. His uplifted thought and deep appreciation of our Leader's struggles in establishing the Christian Science movement, and of her love for mankind which strengthened her in times of persecution, enabled him to rise above a sense of resentment which had kept him in bondage to material belief.

No one can know how far-reaching will be the result of a healing such as this. Just as no one knows how many vessels are aided through the illumination of each and all of the many lighthouses in the world, so it is impossible to estimate the good resulting from the service provided through the Reading Rooms throughout the Field. Every loving thought, every kindly action, which is awakened through the service of the Reading Rooms, reflects divine Love, and is indicative of "the light of the world," the light which Jesus declared his followers to be when he said, "Ye are the light of the world." It is the great joy as well as the great privilege of all Christian Science churches to keep this light shining through in the Reading Room, thus helping many who are seeking Truth to be guided into the harbor of spiritual understanding.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Our Reading Rooms

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access