Article April 6, 2015 Issue

Serving God: caring for others in need

Barbara Vining

The lives of Christian Scientists have proved over and over again that turning to God for His care and guidance is practical and reliable. It’s wonderful to experience this care—to have, right at hand, the preventive and curative power of God, who is “our Father and our Mother, our Minister and the great Physician: …” (Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 151).

Recently, though, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the fact that it’s not enough just to be on the receiving end of God’s care. We need to be willing to serve the great Physician by caring for others—even caring for the sick.

Don’t worry! That doesn’t mean you necessarily have to take up nursing as a profession. On the other hand, every person at some point in his or her experience is called upon by circumstances to “nurse” someone—to provide loving and practical care for a sick family member, friend, church member, neighbor, or even a stranger, even if it is only minimal care, or temporary aid until professional care is at hand. At the very least, everyone is occasionally in a position to respond in a compassionate and comforting way to someone who is in a state of anguish; this, too, is a form of nursing.

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