'Thinking for the ages'
“That church is now the largest Christian Science church in the state?” my friend asked.
“Yes, it is,” I responded. “The other churches have grown smaller, and some have even closed.”
“But that church is so small!”
“I know, but that’s just what has happened over the years.”
“Well,” he concluded, “I’m sure that’s just going to keep happening until the entire Christian Science movement has disappeared.”
I felt frustration welling up as I struggled to share with him that such an event did not have to happen. Since then, I have been praying about that conversation, and as I do, I cannot help but think of an afternoon that opened my thought to a new view of the power and strength of the Christian Science Church.
I love studying Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount frequently. I find that if I read it anticipating something new and fresh, I will always be uplifted, and sometimes even a bit surprised. One afternoon I came across this passage: “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men” (Matthew 5:13 ). I read this passage over and over, unable to lift my eyes from it. As I recognized an angel message “in the works,” I put my book down and began to listen carefully for what God had to tell me.
I pictured myself at a steak dinner, picking up a salt shaker and dashing my steak with some salt. I asked myself, “What is there more of on that plate? The steak, or the salt?” Naturally, it was the steak. That’s when I learned something that, for me, changed these words of Jesus forever. I may have a plate full of meat, but just a few small granules of salt would be enough to affect the entire flavor of the steak; to permanently change it. Translation: There may be billions of people in the world, and billions more problems, but a few faithful workers with even a modest understanding of Truth are enough to change absolutely everything.
Sometimes when one is the only Christian Scientist in one’s family, school, community, or even (possibly) the whole country, the task of effecting change can feel daunting. We may wonder if there are enough Christian Scientists to even keep the movement going, let alone to help the whole world. But by taking instruction from this simple passage, we can rest assured that we are enough. All over the world, Christian Scientists and other spiritual thinkers are taking a stand—individually, as families, and as churches—to uplift the human race. As we stand on the rock of Truth, we make a difference, whether we see it or not. We can be both certain and grateful that at any given moment, prayerful treatment is being given somewhere in the world, and that the prayers of that individual reach out to bless all mankind.
As we each take up this daily prayerful work, we are joining in the global effort to bring comfort, relieve suffering, and eliminate sin. Each grain of salt makes a difference in the flavor of the steak, and each moment with God makes a difference in uplifting the world’s thought.
There may be billions of problems in the world, but a few faithful workers and some granules of Truth can change everything.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, often spoke of the need for strong workers in the Christian Science movement, expecting that those who participated in the harvest would be able to make a difference. In a message to The Mother Church, she emphasized the value of the work, and of being a “right worker”—one who dedicates his or her time and effort to do “the thinking for the ages” (Message to The Mother Church for 1900, p. 3 ). She expected and anticipated strength, and she knew that the global reach of the work would have to promote the general welfare.
When my grandmother passed away, we received many condolence cards that included memories of being comforted by a reassuring thought she shared, and how those words had made such a difference in the lives of these individuals. I also think of my mom, who prayed daily for my brother and me when we were kids, and how those prayers reached out and included all those in our experience. While my mom didn’t give specific Christian Science treatment to anyone who had not asked for help, the far-reaching effects of her work were clear. Friends were protected in car accidents, wrong actions were revealed and corrected, and at times when friends seemed financially limited, supply always arrived to support a right activity. This is proof that the salt is in action, reaching and blessing all.
I remember once, when I was in high school, I had not had the best day and felt the need to take a walk around the campus to listen quietly for God’s direction. In the first 20 minutes of this walk, I was achieving little. Then I came across a fellow student who was walking in the other direction. With tremendous love and enthusiasm (and with a huge smile), she said, “Hi! How are you doing?” I had no choice—I immediately responded, “Great!” That broke all my self-pity and discouragement. The remainder of my walk was filled with uplift and gratitude, and the challenges I had been facing either melted away or were quickly resolved. That tiny granule of thought from that student—expressed so simply—has yielded countless hours of inspiration and healing in my own life.
It’s important to make sure that there is nothing routine or stale about our prayers. I have been learning that allowing them to be mundane or redundant is what Jesus warned about as the salt losing “his savour.” A steak without flavor is still a steak (though perhaps not an enjoyable one). But salt without flavor ceases to be salt. It becomes rock: cold, hard, ineffective.
When Jesus denounced the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of his community, his greatest criticism was against their blind dedication to the letter of the law, even to the exclusion of demonstrating compassion. Mosaic law was never intended to be stagnant, but was always to grow in people’s hearts, helping to move world thinking forward with each new generation. And, as Jesus promised in the Sermon on the Mount, that law was not to be destroyed or undermined, but to be fulfilled. Such fulfillment comes through spiritual inspiration gained from an uplifted appreciation of the law. Because of a refusal to see the freshness and newness of the law each day, the scribes and Pharisees had little “savour,” not much that could effect healing change in their community. They were the guardians of the stale, hardened status quo. The consequence of such thinking, Jesus warns, is that it is “cast out” and “trodden”—tossed away as useless, and trodden down into muddied world thinking.
Here is the power of the work of spiritual thinkers: that while our numbers may be comparatively small, as they have always been, our transforming moments with God are mighty. Anyone can entertain legions of angel thoughts each day, and that is a great force for uplifting the race. And as these moments of spiritual communion take hold, we can be assured that they will open thought to a more active sense of church as well.
How grateful we can all be that with each moment that we enjoy with God, we are winning another victory for world thought. When Jesus spoke of that salt centuries ago, what he was really telling us was that our work contains great value and purpose for changing the world. This prayer is not limited by age, time, or location. Every day, our prayers reach out to illuminate humanity and lift tired eyes to heaven, harmony.
