Article May 20, 2013 Issue

'Who does the nudging?'

Eric D. Nelson

The other day as I was driving from one appointment to another, the thought came that my job, Christian Science Committee on Publication for Northern California, was to be a kind of “nudge” to those I meet in the media and legislature, encouraging them, for instance, to see that health isn’t a condition of matter and that health care isn’t the exclusive domain of drug-based medicine. However, right on the heels of this “inspiration” came another, more arresting notion: “Who’s doing the nudging?”

It was pretty obvious that this question came from God, demanding that I acknowledge who’s really in charge. Is it me nudging them or God “nudging” His entire creation to hear the message of the Christ?

I realized that every appointment or phone call I make, every e-mail I send, every article I write, is a direct response to God leading me, nudging me, to be in contact with the right person at the right time, in the right place, and to always have a ready answer for those who want and need to know more about Christian Science.