Article February 28, 2011 Issue

The following was written in support of Church Alive, a focus of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, that explores the meaning and possibilities of awakening to the spiritual basis and impact of Church. 

You are the ‘I can’ of I am

By Stephanie Johnson

The line “I can is the son of I AM” was shared with me as a teenager, and is often attributed to Mary Baker Eddy. It still rings in my ears when I’m faced—just like everyone is—with the thought of “I can’t.”

Of course the primary reference here is to God revealing Himself to Moses as “I AM.” Moses had been wrestling with excuses why he shouldn’t do what God was asking him to do, i.e., go back to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go from slavery. OK, I can see why he might have come up with a few excuses. A big one was thinking that no one would believe him. God told Moses to tell Pharaoh that the great “I AM,” the mighty, infinite One, had sent him. And look what happened when Moses gave his consent to do what was asked of him, knowing that he wasn’t out on his own, but that God was the authority behind his actions.

All of us have faced the mental resistance of “I can’t” in both day-to-day activities and in church. I find the attitude that I choose to keep on my mental table, either “I can” or “I can’t,” colors everything in my life for better or worse. We have a choice. Is it going to be the limitation and ultimate stagnation of excuse-making, or the ever expanding life-experience of facing challenges and spreading wings? Do we want to contribute to the aliveness of our church, or to its dormancy?

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Testimony of Healing

Swelling and discomfort quickly healed