Already it’s 2025! Sometimes a new year will cause us to reflect on the year just gone and consider whether we made the most of the opportunities it presented; whether we learned from the challenges; whether we progressed in some way. More likely we will be thinking ahead. Will this be the year I lose weight, exercise more, find a better job? We may even set goals for ourselves.
If we are honest, we must admit that most of our goals are personal ones aren’t they? There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a better version of ourselves in some way, but what if our goals were larger? What would the world be like if we all decided to contribute to making the world a better, more peaceful place? Traditional Christmas carols express hope for ‘peace on earth, good will toward men’. What if this desire was not just a line in a song but our personal goal?
You might ask: How can I make a difference? The world is in such a difficult state – there is poverty, and there are wars, and terrible injustices. How can I help with that, you ask? Every thought and every action contribute to the mental atmosphere of our environment. Are we contributing to a more peaceful environment in our daily interactions? Are we patient and supportive when the person behind the counter is new at their job? Are we gracious in traffic when someone inadvertently cuts us off? Are we forgiving when a waiter makes an error in our order? Are we generous to those less fortunate than ourselves? Every one of these actions contributes to your own and others’ feeling of being loved and valued. Isn’t that what we all need? Isn’t this what really makes life work right?
The Golden Rule: ‘ Treat others as you would want to be treated’, isn’t just a Christian saying. A quick Google search reveals that it is a core demand of every major religion and school of thought. The world knows that it is love that makes things work right. This time next year when we look back on 2025, let’s hope we can all say that we contributed to the peace of the world. Starting right here with our everyday actions we can do our part in building peace.
This article was contributed by Deborah Packer, a member of the Canberra Christian Science community.
Come, O fount of every vision, / Lift our eyes to what will come. / See the lion and the young lamb / Dwell together in Your home. / Hear the cries of war fall silent, / Feel our love glow like the sun, / When we all serve one another, / Then our heaven is begun.
True forgiveness – is it possible? If someone has really hurt you in ways that seem impossible to ignore, is it necessary to forgive them? Is it actually possible?
Jesus is quoted as saying (Matt 5: 38,44) Ye have heard that it hat been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: … But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; Why did he say this? Is it realistic? Is it wisdom?
We don’t ever have to condone or excuse unacceptable behaviour. It is only right that laws and courts deal with unlawful behaviour but world events tell us that ‘an eye for an eye’ thinking does not bring peace.
In this same passage, Jesus goes on to say that we are the children of God – God who is Love. Our true nature then is loving. This gives us the strength to move beyond hurts. When you truly know who you are, it is possible to find your freedom from negative, limiting feelings. Hurt and resentment fall away in the knowledge that you are the loved and loving child of God.
We should remember that the world is wide; that there are a thousand million different human wills, opinions, ambitions, tastes, and loves; that each person has a different history, constitution, culture, character, from all the rest; … we should go forth into life with the smallest expectations, but with the largest patience; with a keen relish for and appreciation of everything beautiful, great, and good, but with a temper so genial that the friction of the world shall not wear upon our sensibilities; … determined not to be offended when no wrong is meant, nor even when it is, unless the offense be against God. (Miscellaneous Writings p223)
This is how we find our peace.
This article was contributed by a member of the Christian Science community in Canberra.
This testimony was published in the July 15 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel. It is by a student who Zooms in each week to the Christian Science Sunday School in Canberra.
A few years ago, I heard something disturbing on the radio here in Singapore, where I live. Someone shared a scary experience they had been through, and the details frightened me. I didn’t know what to think. I was feeling overwhelmed by thoughts about what I’d heard, and my happiness started to fade. These feelings even affected my schoolwork. I decided to pray because I knew prayer could help me.
I started thinking about where my happiness comes from. (Click here to continue reading or to listen to this testimony.)
Whether you call it prayer or not, probably all of us at some time withdraw to that quiet place within to look for answers to life’s challenges. For me this is prayer.
When you go to that quiet place do you find answers? I’ve been thinking a lot about why sometimes I do get answers, and other times not. What I have noticed is that when I am willing to be humble and to put personal wishes and desires aside, I am more receptive to new ideas. This makes sense to me.
What I have also noticed is that when I lift my thought above the problem to a higher, larger, more spiritual perspective then solutions are found.
I have an analogy that helps me to lift my thought in times of trouble. It goes like this.
A man is canoeing on the ocean not far from the beach. It is a beautiful day and he ventures out further. Without warning a dense fog rolls in and he can hardly see to the end of his canoe. Soon he loses his orientation to the beach. He becomes fearful and wonders, is he heading to the beach and safety, or to the rocks or even to the open ocean? He can’t tell. He sits still and prays. Quickly the thought comes to him to stand up. It’s too dangerous to stand up in this little canoe he reasons, so he prays again. Again he gets the message to stand up. Three times he asks and three times he has this strong feeling that he should stand up. Eventually he obeys. As he stands up he realises that it is only a low-lying band of fog that is not much above his head when he is sitting down. Now standing up he is in the full sunshine; the beach is clearly in view. He sits down, spins the canoe around and heads safely to the beach. The fear is gone because he has a clear direction.
For me the fog represents the details of the human situation that is challenging me. The sunshine represents the spiritual ideas that are always available to give us a sense of direction. Nowadays I ask myself: Are you examining the fog? Am I going over the details of the situation that seems troubling?
Answers are not to be found by lamenting the fog. Answers come when we are aware of the good that already exists and celebrate this. This encourages the state of mind that is receptive. Sometimes there are solutions that we never expected.
This article was contributed by a member of the Christian Science community in Canberra.
This recording is of the readings on the topic: Sustained by the Father-Mother God
Psalm 23
DIVINE LOVE ] is my shepherd; I shall not want.
[LOVE] maketh me to lie down in green pastures: [LOVE] leadeth me beside the still waters.
[LOVE] restoreth my soul [spiritual sense]: [LOVE] leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow ofdeath, I will fear no evil: for [LOVE] is with me; [LOVE’S] rod and [LOVE’S] staff they comfort me.
[LOVE] prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: [LOVE] anointeth my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [LOVE] for ever.
This recording is of the readings on the topic:The Last Supper.
The Garden of Gethsemane
“As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all of it.”
The true sense is spiritually lost, if the sacrament is confined to the use of bread and wine. The disciples had eaten, yet Jesus prayed and gave them bread. This would have been foolish in a literal sense; but in its spiritual signification, it was natural and beautiful. (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p32: 15-25)
A member of the Christian Science community in Canberra gives thanks.
Recently I started reading a book by Christian Science practitioner Myrtle Smith. The book is titled “The Songbird Sings Before the Dawn” and has three parts to it. The first part is about Gratitude, the second is concerned with Angels and the third part is called The Practice.
Within the Gratitude section she makes mention of how much we can be grateful for; how much we can be thankful for. Some of the simple things – our privacy, our education, our thoughtful neighbours and friends, the simple act of being able to set the table for a meal.
She also relates a story of a meeting with another practitioner who had asked a person he was working with to make a list each day of the things they could be grateful for and to send it to him each day. The next day he received a letter with a 16 page gratitude list.
I have taken that suggestion and have started to write each day some of the things for which I am grateful. My daily list doesn’t run to 16 pages, but in doing so it is making me more considered and grateful for what I have. While I might not have been ungrateful for what I have I do recognise I have been remiss in not acknowledging and giving thanks for the good in my life.
Myrtle Smith also makes mention of Peter Henniker-Heaton, a man who had been discharged from the army when his legs became paralysed. His healing took ten years. When he was finally out on his own walking on crutches he met a man on a bus and the conversation turned to being grateful. The apparently somewhat grumpy man said to Peter Henniker-Heaton he (Henniker-Heaton) must be grateful to be here, to which Henniker-Heaton responded “No, I am here because I was grateful.”
I am not losing anything in my life by taking time to show a bit more gratitude. I am not losing anything in my life by being a bit more thoughtful and considered and giving thanks.
It is in this spirit of ‘Leaning on the sustaining infinite’ and acknowledging the origin of all the blessings that I am giving more than passing or mere lip service to, and gratitude for, all that is in my life.
This recording is of the readings on the topic:The Lord Was Not in the Fire.
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Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed, For I am thy God, I will still give thee aid; I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand;
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply; The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
A member of the Canberra Christian Science community writes …
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.
Christian Science Canberra 