Article November 17, 2014 Issue

Enlisted as ‘sentinels of Truth’

Mark McCurties

This article is adapted from audio. It’s from a recurring Sentinel podcast series titled “What is a Sentinel?” (see sentinel.christianscience.com/enlisted-as-sentinels). Here, Mark McCurties offers his answer to this compelling question.

A sentinel is someone who stands guard or keeps watch. Usually, a sentinel is a member of some type of military unit—perhaps a law enforcement agency. So, as I’ve pondered over the years what it means to be a sentinel, I’m certainly grateful for the brave men and women who unselfishly serve in those capacities in the name of preserving liberty and justice.

It strikes me, though, that when Christ Jesus gave his imperative command to watch, he probably didn’t intend that everyone would need to become a soldier in a traditional sense of the word. Or when Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, chose to name the weekly periodical of her church the Christian Science Sentinel, she didn’t likely envision that her students would all rush to join the military! And yet, Mrs. Eddy was never careless in the words that she chose, and she certainly gave a lot of thoughtful deliberation to the naming of her periodicals.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Can we be too generous?