Article July 6, 2015 Issue

Divine Love dissolves differences

Carla Stillman

Recently I was swimming at our local sports club when I heard two men talking loudly and agitatedly. I poked my head out of the water long enough to see them standing at the end of one lane in a heated discussion. After a couple of more laps, I checked again. Two pool employees had now joined them, and I could hear their pleas for the argument to stop. It didn’t sound as if much progress was being made.

As a Christian Scientist, I have learned that we can bring prayer to every situation, so I reached out to God. I felt prompted to call across to the men, rather loudly so that I could be heard, “Gentlemen, I invite one of you to swim in my lane.” They didn’t respond, so I called out the invitation several more times until they finally took notice. One man called back, “This is a matter of principle.” I heard myself thinking, “The only real Principle is divine Love.” 

The next thing I knew, this man was approaching me and jumped into my lane. I extended my hand and we exchanged names. Even though he wanted to continue the discussion with me, I assured him that I felt it was best to put the event behind us and continue our swim. For the next half hour, we were all swimming peacefully. But I was also very busy praying, for I knew our swimming time would end and these two men would very likely meet again in the locker room.

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‘Love thy neighbour’—practical and possible
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