From first to last The Mother Church seemed type and shadow of the warfare
between the flesh and Spirit, even that shadow whose substance is the
divine Spirit, imperatively propelling the greatest moral, physical, civil,
and religious reform ever known on earth. In the words of the prophet: "The
shadow of a great rock in a weary land."
This church was dedicated on January 6, anciently one of the many dates
selected and observed in the East as the day of the birth and baptism of
our master Metaphysician, Jesus of Nazareth.
Christian Scientists, their children and grandchildren to the latest
generations, inevitably love one another with that love wherewith Christ
loveth us; a love unselfish, unambitious, impartial, universal,--that loves
only because it _is_ Love. Moreover, they love their enemies, even those
that hate them. This we all must do to be Christian Scientists in spirit
and in truth. I long, and live, to see this love demonstrated. I am seeking
and praying for it to inhabit my own heart and to be made manifest in my
life. Who will unite with me in this pure purpose, and faithfully struggle
till it be accomplished? Let this be our Christian endeavor society, which
Christ organizes and blesses.
While we entertain due respect and fellowship for what is good and doing
good in all denominations of religion, and shun whatever would isolate us
from a true sense of goodness in others, we cannot serve mammon.
Christian Scientists are really united to only that which is Christlike,
but they are not indifferent to the welfare of any one. To perpetuate a
cold distance between our denomination and other sects, and close the door
on church or individuals--however much this is done to us--is not Christian
Science. Go not into the way of the unchristly, but wheresoever you
recognize a clear expression of God's likeness, there abide in confidence
and hope.
Our unity with churches of other denominations must rest on the spirit of
Christ calling us together. It cannot come from any other source.
Popularity, self-aggrandizement, aught that can darken in any degree our
spirituality, must be set aside. Only what feeds and fills the sentiment
with unworldliness, can give peace and good will towards men.
All Christian churches have one bond of unity, one nucleus or point of
convergence, one prayer,--the Lord's Prayer. It is matter for rejoicing
that we unite in love, and in this sacred petition with every praying
assembly on earth,--"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is
in heaven."
If the lives of Christian Scientists attest their fidelity to Truth, I
predict that in the twentieth century every Christian church in our land,
and a few in far-off lands, will approximate the understanding of Christian
Science sufficiently to heal the sick in his name. Christ will give to
Christianity his new name, and Christendom will be classified as Christian
Scientists.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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