Thinking out of the thimble

The Editors

Eighty-four years ago, this magazine highlighted a statement by Henry Drummond (author of The Greatest Thing in the World): “Don’t offer men a thimbleful of Gospel. Don’t offer them merely joy, or merely peace, or merely rest, or merely safety; but remember how Christ came to give men a more abundant life than they had, and then you will take hold of the whole of a man—and you will give him a bigger life, a fuller life-current, than the life he is living” (Sentinel, October 13, 1928).

Those words still resonate with many of us in the 21st century as we hear people around us lamenting that despite its Christian roots, America is “going down the spiritual tubes.”

This is becoming increasingly evident, they say, in many facets of life including church, family, work, and government. Religion writers, especially, detect a deep-seated weariness and directionlessness in much of contemporary church life. They ask: Are Christians responding in word and deed to Jesus’ call to them to join him in his joyful work of shepherding those in need and proclaiming the gospel message of healing?

God's love is here to heal and save everyone.

In the light of this concern about declining interest in the “Good News” or “Glad Tidings”—and without necessarily resorting to thimble- or tweet-size thinking—the September 5 issue of The Christian Century magazine devoted several pages to a reexamination of the gospel message and how it can best be communicated in our time. Its editors invited some of their “favorite authors” to proclaim the gospel in seven words (or fewer). They pointed out that in our culture, the basic Christian vocabulary is increasingly esoteric to many, so, “it’s a useful exercise to say it simply, in a way anyone can understand.”

Here are some of their offerings:

• Divinely persistent, God really loves us.
• In Christ, God’s yes defeats our no.
• We are who God says we are.
• God gets the last word.

This week, in the spirit of the Century’s challenge, we invited members of our staff to share their thoughts, and here are a few of their responses:

• God’s love: the greatest news ever.
• God, through the Christ, heals and redeems.
• Eternal Love leaves no one out.
• God is here, loving you; love back!

No doubt about it. God is real and His love is here to heal and save everyone. And in a concerted effort to spread that message, The Christian Science Publishing Society, along with other Mother Church activities, is using the Internet, and specifically news and social media. JSH-Online.com, for example, set out to “reach humanity one reader at a time,” and within the first six months, its subscribers have shared more than 35,000 articles with the world!

Over a hundred years ago, the Publishing Society’s founder, Mary Baker Eddy, urged Christian Scientists to make a special effort to spread what she called the “gospel of Love,” “gospel of grace,” “gospel of peace,” and the “gospel of healing.” She wrote: “Will you give yourselves wholly and irrevocably to the great work of establishing the truth, the gospel, and the Science which are necessary to the salvation of the world from error, sin, disease, and death? Answer at once and practically, and answer aright!” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 177).

Yes, more than seven words, or a mere “thimbleful,” but Mrs. Eddy’s call remains concise, clear, and emphatic. The gospel message of healing and redemption encompasses every aspect of our lives—individually and collectively. Isn’t that the best news of all?

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December 24, 2012

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