A refreshing way to think about church

These days it can be easy to think about church as old fashion, dogmatic, out of touch. Mary Baker Eddy, a true ideas woman and forward thinker has helped me to think about church in a vital way. She herself founded a church, but she understood church in its highest significance and brought that out in her writings.

She has helped me to think about the church that Jesus started. Where is it? Where did he build it? As a Christian, that would be the best church to unite with, right?

I’ve found his church to be built in our hearts and minds.

There is a story in the Bible of one of Jesus’ disciples, Peter, acknowledging through inspiration from God, Jesus pure spirituality that allowed him to heal, which is referred to as the Christ. Jesus basically said it was this acknowledgement on which he would build his church. (see Matthew 13:16-18)

In short, Jesus healed and left instruction for his immediate and future followers to heal like he did, through inspiration from God, which Mrs. Eddy explains how to do. I have found a vital sense of church, a deeply satisfying worship of God daily, through striving to love and heal more.

Mrs. Eddy says it this way in Science and Health on page 35,

“Our church is built on the divine Principle, Love. We can unite with this church only as we are new-born of Spirit, as we reach the Life which is Truth and the Truth which is Life by bringing forth the fruits of Love, — casting out error and healing the sick.”

This is a fun and inspiring sense of church we can all be involved in daily. And if we attend church in a building, we can take this true sense of church with us.