I love a passage in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass in which Alice is talking with the White Queen and proclaims, “One can’t believe impossible things.” The Queen responds, “I daresay you haven’t had much practice!... Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

I shared this passage in a memorial message for a soldier killed in Iraq, explaining that there are many reasons why we have memorial ceremonies, one of which is that we come hoping and wishing to believe “impossible” things. Christian Science explains what Jesus declared—“With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26)—and invites us to consider the accomplishment of the “impossible” as a divinely natural occurrence. The Bible abounds with stories of events that could only be met with wonder and skepticism! One such “impossible” thing, proclaimed by the Christian faith, is that one grave is empty—Jesus Christ is raised from the dead!

When we talk about being a Christian sentinel, we’re really talking about being a follower of Jesus Christ, about striving to have that divine Mind that animated him. The sixth tenet of Christian Science reads, “And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; …” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 497). We solemnly promise to act as a Christian sentinel! This magazine has been published continuously since Mrs. Eddy founded it in 1898, with Jesus’ words as a motto: “What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch” (Mark 13:37).

The Christian disciple is a sentinel whose consciousness is illuminated by the Christ. As a result that consciousness is enriched and enhanced—the Christian sentinel simply has clearer views of things because the light of Jesus’ healing truth expresses the same light that displaced any sense of darkness and void in the dawn of creation (see Genesis 1:3).

Much has been said about how a sentinel watches, protects, guards, and vigilantly looks out for the enemy while they stand to protect something precious and valuable. Wonderful as this image is, it might imply a stationary activity. Far from it! The core identity of a follower of Jesus Christ is to be one who is sent. 

We can embrace our identity as sent ones—there are many hurting people in the world to whom we need to go. Jesus said to his disciples, “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21).

To be a Christian sentinel is a natural activity. Jesus spoke like us, ate like us, entered into the human experience of those around him. None were excluded—not tax collectors, lepers, or sinners; he called not “the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13). The Christian sentinel enters into another’s world while maintaining the vision of spiritual sense that he or she is sent to share. We enter into the experience of others to share a divine perspective. The good tidings Jesus proclaimed allowed him to tenderly and deeply feel the full range of human experience, and yet enter into it without losing sight of what is divinely true.

To be a Christian sentinel is to express our relationship to God. Jesus was a sentinel, but also a servant, giving generously of himself in every moment. The Christian sentinel reflects the vision of Jesus—inviting all humankind into that beautiful relationship of perfect love and acceptance that Scripture informs us Jesus had with God “before the world was” (John 17:5).

The Christian sentinel brings the grace of God, a radical and transforming power, even into hard and difficult places.

To be a Christian sentinel is to be moved with compassion. The Bible speaks of Jesus as being moved with compassion. Following in his footsteps, the Christian sentinel brings the grace of God, a radical and transforming power, even into hard and difficult places. The question for the one who would be this sentinel is, Do you know “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) in an experiential way? Often we know of Christ Jesus as an idea or concept; but the Christian sentinel must trust and demonstrate the transforming power of God for him- or herself. This consciousness transforms the heart and mind, and the way we approach the world on a day-to-day basis.

I’m reminded of an experience I had as an Army chaplain. When a gunman opened fire on soldiers and civilians at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, I was immediately engulfed in the endless demands for ministry in the emergency ward and intensive care units. In years of ministry to an Army at war, there was plenty of opportunity to enter into another’s pain, and the opportunity to think: “I can’t feel any more; it’s too much. I just can’t enter into that.” On this occasion, our mission was not complete until early the next morning. I then discovered that one of my soldiers had been moved to a regional medical center because he was not expected to live.

The soldier’s father arrived at the same time I did, and within moments, it was clear to me that he had given up on his son. It was somewhat out of character, but I found myself saying, “Don’t you dare give up on your son!” This led to an opportunity for me to advocate what is divinely true, to see through the lens of faith, and to share this vision. Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health that “… the spiritual man’s substantiality transcends mortal vision and is revealed only through divine Science” (p. 301).

This ministry continued for months, and I actually retired before all the soldier’s hospitalization and therapy was complete. Still, I know that the vision that came to me through spiritual sense and Christian Science proved true; the young man is alive and back on active duty today. The experience showed me that the Christian sentinel is moved by a passion for this vision that transcends mortal vision, and he or she need never fall into a sorrow that paralyzes.

Finally, the Christian sentinel, like God, rests in action. Mrs. Eddy writes, “God rests in action. Imparting has not impoverished, can never impoverish, the divine Mind.... The highest and sweetest rest, even from a human standpoint, is in holy work” (Science and Health, pp. 519–520).

The “impossible” things Christ Jesus performed may seem to belong to a distant time. Not so! The divine Principle that moved those demonstrations, proving “all things are possible to God,” is as present today as it was centuries ago. Humanity’s liberty depends on our willingness to accept this commission as Christian sentinels. So many people want to learn to see through the lens of faith. Scripture cautions, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few” (Matthew 9:37).

To be a Christian sentinel is the core of one’s identity as a disciple. Let’s accept this divine appointment!