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Love that finds solutions

A Christian Science perspective: A response to the Monitor’s View ‘Unsung heroes who rescue Syria’s refugees.’

  • By Susan C. Stark

Sometimes the extreme needs of people in war-torn or devastated areas bring forth unique solutions and amazing kindnesses. Some wonderful examples are in the Monitor editorial “Unsung heroes who rescue Syria’s refugees” (CSMonitor.com).

An e-mail recently came from a friend telling what she has experienced in helping people around the world: “I am just in awe of how freely God, divine Love, loves ... whether it is a boy in Nepal being given an education through donations or little Syrian children being helped by a Kurd. How wondrous!” I knew that she was talking about the good that blesses one and all as we begin to see that God is Love (see I John 4:8). That, and the increased good we can do when we understand that God made us in His spiritual likeness – the reflection of divine Love.

A loving act can be seen as evidence of the love that God, who is good itself and the source of our goodness, has for His creation. What if we were to listen for God’s direction in our efforts to act with goodness? We might find that so much – in fact, all – is possible to God, divine Love, and to us as we follow Love’s leading.

Christ Jesus taught us this when he thanked God and then fed thousands with a few fish and some loaves of bread (see Matthew 15:32-38). Jesus’ disciples felt that the supplies at hand were not enough for so many people, but Jesus lived his life with the knowledge that good from God is without limit and is already present. Christian Science brings out that when Jesus satisfied the hunger of a crowd or healed the sick, he gave us what we most need: proof that God’s creation – our true spiritual identity – has all that God gives.

Letting Love direct us, we discover a wonderful freedom from the opinion that there isn’t enough money, time, or talent to do anything meaningful to solve problems. We may find that much can be accomplished with surprisingly few material resources as we begin to understand that God, Spirit, is the source of unlimited spiritual good. The more we love, the more conscious we are of God, divine Love, leading the way, opening up new avenues for good. Merciful, unselfish love derived from God takes away fear, or the belief that our supply is dependent on how many or how few material things we have.

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes: “In divine Science, where prayers are mental, all may avail themselves of God as ‘a very present help in trouble.’ Love is impartial and universal in its adaptation and bestowals. It is the open fount which cries, ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters’ ” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” pp. 12-13).

There is no national boundary that can stop the action of Love. When we love our sisters and brothers around the world as the spiritual sons and daughters of God, it gives us bright glimpses of what Christ Jesus knew – that each individual is supplied by God with what is needed. Then we see in very tangible ways the complete care that Love is giving each of His children and how freely Love loves.

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Mark Sappenfield
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Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

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