The Mother Church puts out publications periodically addressing marriage, but I haven’t seen a lecture supporting that topic in a long time. Interestingly, when I really made CS my own over ten years ago, I remember being skeptical when I read a copy of the Sentinel that was titled “Valuing Marriage.” As a young person who has just graduated from college at that time, and who saw so much value of studying CS from the spiritual perspective, I sincerely felt like the church was trying to promote some human conpromising situation by saying that we should value marriage. I guess I figured that those who REALLY took CS seriously shouldn’t have to worry about marriage.

I think it can get confused, in our CS movement, sometimes how Mary Baker Eddy worded different things in Science and Health and in some of her other popular articles like “wedlock.” It’s only as I’ve had more real life experience that I feel more surely that Mrs. Eddy would never have expected even here most sincere students to “emerge gently from matter into Spirit,” but to never pursue the support of a committed relationship with another person, if they felt inclined in that direction. I’m not saying that everyone does feel inclined towards making themselves available to a committed relationship. But for those Christian Scientists to do naturally have desire to be in this sort of relationship, perhaps some clarification could be made through CS lectures, that marriage is a really healthy thing.

I think it would be great if the Board of Lectureship started a lecture serious about relationships — specifically the long term ones that are designed to bring stability to individuals and support everyone’s growth in the most loving ways. I think this would be really relevant!

Aw, good question.

Love is not a theoretical, abstract concept held in the human mind. Love is a living power that we express as children of God. And that expression, naturally, has an identity. The identity is qualities of Love expressed.

So, really, there is no leap from seeing one’s completeness in Love and experiencing the blessings of love. To be complete in Love is to be Love’s reflection, which includes outwardly manifesting the qualities of Love, like generosity, kindness, unselfishness, care and compassion. To be complete in Love and to express these qualities is one and the same thing.

I figured a prosperous marriage had to include an active abundance of Love qualities being expressed, since the spiritual foundation of an enduring marriage is Love. So, I focused on being a better expression of Love, and that desire took a specific direction, as I wrote about above.

Does that help?