Article March 18, 1996 Issue

A QUESTIONS & ANSWERS EXCHANGE

Are there questions you'd like to explore with other readers and with the editorial staff of the Christian Science Sentinel? This column offers a place for that exchange to happen. What's here isn't intended to give a definitive answer. The queries and the ideas spring from the heart, as we are walking side by side.

Q. I am 101 years old. I know there is life after death, and for a few years I have been praying to God to let me go forward into the next stage of existence. I admit that I am still growing in my understanding of God through my study of Christian Science, but why am I still here?—from a reader in Northamptonshire, England A. You've answered your own question. You're doing what God always intended that you should do—grow in your understanding of God and your relation to Him and daily demonstrate this. In actuality, you are now, always have been, and ever will be, the perfect child of God, and your real identity is spiritual, not material. This remains the same whether you are on this side of what is called death or the other. You will never be nearer the kingdom of heaven then you are now, because the kingdom of heaven is within you, as Jesus said. You have never been outside the omnipresence of God, who is divine Love. The Psalmist said, "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations" (Ps. 90:1). This is where you have been, and are now—praising and glorifying God and doing His will.—from a reader in Dorset, England Q. Why do Christian Scientist seem to think they are like butterflies and everyone else is still a caterpillar left behind?—from a student of the Bible in London

A. Quite frankly, that doesn't fit with Christian Science. First, to compare oneself with the next person doesn't really reveal must about one's salvation. The only standard for comparison is Christ Jesus' example. And all who call themselves Christians have to admit they are still striving to touch the hem of that garment.

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Annual Meeting 1996
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