Was just discussing with a friend in California, not a Christian Scientist, the ups and downs of posting our words on the Internet, and the sometimes flak we catch from readers, (whatever their reasons may be.) Some just seem to want to cause trouble, be naughty, as it were. Shared with her a couple of experiences from two individuals I admire who exhibited grace under fire in their own lives. The first I mentioned was Albert Schweitzer who once wrote: if we expect to do good in this world, we can't be surprised if people don't roll stones out of our path; we must not be surprised if they roll a few more upon it. Not his precise words, but the essential message. I do not have that book in front of me where I read it.
The other and earlier hero of mine involved John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church. At one point he was speaking outdoors on his favorite topic, Jesus Christ, when someone in the unruly mob hurled a brick at him, knocking him out cold. Before long, his brother picked him up, and according to several eye-witnesses, this is the way this saintly little man behaved. He remained calm and loving, did not retaliate, did not become angry, but kept his sweet and Christly disposition. I have thought of this so many times and have felt awe at a person's being to do this. I know I could not have, and don't think I'm up to that today. But what an inspiration to me and to thousands of others over the years.
Lastly but not the least, Mary Baker Eddy is a hero, heroine I guess, to me. The way she stood up to opposition more than I probably could imagine and carried through with the mission God had entrusted to her--establishing the Science of Christ--is something I shall always be grateful for. And in line with conducting ourselves in a mature manner in this Christian work we're about, the following lines from something she wrote might be of help to someone somewhere. This is from "Miscellaneous Writings", page 28l: "Admiral Coligny,in the time of the French Huguenots, was converted to Protestantism through a stray copy of the Scriptures that fell into his hands. he replied to his wife, who urged him to come out and confess his faith, 'It is wise to count the cost of becoming a true Christian.' She answered him, 'It is wiser to count the cost of not becoming a true Christian.' (Italicize not, sorry this is not working right now.) So, whatever we meet that is hard in the Christian warfare we must count as nothing, and must think instead, of our poverty and helplessness without this understanding, and count ourselves always as debtors to Christ, Truth."
