“Sacrifice self to bless one another, even as God has blessed you”

We continue our spiritual study guide activity for June with this idea from p. 155, lines 6-7 in Miscellaneous Writings: “Sacrifice self to bless one another, even as God has blessed you.”

Here are some (spring-inspired!) remarks from a fellow server:

Mary Baker Eddy wrote the line, “Sacrifice self to bless one another, even as God has blessed you,” in a letter to the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Lawrence, Mass. upon the church’s opening in 1896. At the beginning of this letter Mrs. Eddy likens God to a gardener, noting divine Principle will “dig about this little church,” “prune its encumbering branches,” “water it with the dews of heaven,” “enrich its roots,” “enlarge its borders with divine Love.”

If God has a green thumb, then all of Creation, including us, must naturally express that nurturing, loving quality, too. I like to think that when we give up self – when we let go of the concept of ourselves as limited, as bound by our body, our work, our geography, our background, our history or our time – we are just shedding a tired top soil layer and uncovering the rich substance beneath. It’s already in every being’s nature to grow, to nourish, to work in harmony with one another, and to “bring forth fruit.”

(And judging by the state of everyone’s gardens at the moment, this is definitely the case!)

Thinking about it this way, sacrificing self to bless mankind in our families, in our churches, in our communities, in our institutions and in our world isn’t so much about losing something to “do a good deed” for others but rather, it’s about gaining a better sense of our nature as part of the whole of Creation. Mrs. Eddy says as much in her letter to the Lawrence church: “It is the purpose of divine Love to resurrect the understanding, and the kingdom of God, the reign of harmony already within us.”

Understanding the capacity and desire for love already within us is where the blessing part – for inmates, for servers, for the world – comes in.

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As we continue with these study guides exercises, we very much welcome everyone’s thoughts or remarks to be shared with our Joint Committee community here on our Contact page. . Don’t be shy with your fruits!