Sometimes, friends ask me why I am a Christian Scientist. I tell them it’s because it brings me both joy and comfort. With it, I feel more able to cope with the challenges life inevitably presents me with. I feel as though it helps me to make better informed decisions, to recognise the qualities that make life ‘work right’, and it teaches me that there are spiritual laws that, if followed, bring harmony, healing and a sense of security to my life.
The Bible tells me that God is Love (I John 4:8). It also tells me that man (meaning all of us) is the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1: 26, 27). It is reassuring to know that my true nature is Love, which is expressed in a myriad of shades – in gentleness, kindness, forgiveness, selflessness, unselfishness, affection, empathy, generosity, loyalty, courtesy and many more. I know from the Bible also that God’s love is unconditional. It is not influenced by race, or religion, or gender. The rule of Love, then, is that we also must love without bias. This is in fact the Golden Rule: to love another as oneself. Is this not the kind of thinking that would make the world a better place? Is this not what the world needs more of? Love is not just a feeling; it is, in fact, a law. When we follow this law of Love then we bring harmony into our lives.
Through Christian Science, I have also come to know God as Truth and infinite Mind. I have learned to take each of these descriptors and to live them – to be honest because I am the reflection of Truth; to be thoughtful and act intelligently because I am the reflection of Mind. When these spiritual qualities become my core values, then this spiritual discernment enables me to make better decisions when choosing friends and a life partner, or employment, and even the politicians I vote for. These are just some of the reasons I love being a student of Christian Science.
To find out more about how members of the Canberra Christian Science community use the teachings of Christian Science to bring harmony to their lives, log onto christiansciencecanberra.com or visit us on the corner of Macquarie and Bligh Streets in Barton. Opening and service times are on the website.
