Article July 11, 1994 Issue

Love one another—God's law of healing

Marian English

Two problems unrelated to each other were looming unhappily in my life. My mother, who was visiting our family, was not her usual vibrant self. Listless and indifferent, she moved slowly and awkwardly—an effect, her doctor diagnosed, of a slight stroke. Also, two good friends, fellow church members, had become impatient and irritated with each other, and I was fielding complaints from each of them concerning the other.

As a Christian Scientist, I knew the healing power of prayer, yet neither my friends nor my mother, who was not a Christian Scientist, had asked me to pray for them. But I was learning that while the Golden Rule prevents meddling in others' affairs, still the commitment to follow the example of Christ Jesus establishes my obligation to keep my own thought filled with the Christly love that does not passively consent to discord and suffering. So when I woke in the early morning hours one day, still disquieted, I knew that it was not sleep but prayer I needed. I turned to God for inspiration.

I also picked up a copy of one of the writings of Mrs. Eddy. This passage caught my attention: "I recommend that Scientists draw no lines whatever between one person and another, but think, speak, teach, and write the truth of Christian Science without reference to right or wrong personality in this field of labor. Leave the distinctions of individual character and the discriminations and guidance thereof to the Father, whose wisdom is unerring and whose love is universal" (No and Yes, pp. 7–8). One of the important things I was learning through the study of Christian Science is that loving one another in the context of Christian practice is not optional.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Love one another—God's law of healing

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access