Would You Like More Good in Your Life?
WHO wouldn't like more good in life? Good is something we just can't have too much of! But it often seems as though the good we seek is out of reach. How do we find answers when problems loom large in our lives?
The Bible provides an answer so simple we may have missed it. It tells us of God. And the book of Job shows us clearly what happens when we learn more of God, divine Spirit: ''Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee'' (22:21). Good indeed becomes more apparent in our lives as we follow this instruction and learn more of the nature of God--for God is good.
Just think! Whatever way good expresses itself on the human scene, it is always an aspect of the ultimate and original good that God is. A hymn from the Christian Science Hymnal (No. 224) assures us:
All good, where'er it may be
found,
Its source doth find in Thee;
I must have all things and
abound,
While God is God to me.
Becoming better acquainted with God helps us understand Him as the source of all good. And the closer we get to Him, the better we understand Him, the more of good we perceive, and this good embraces and blesses every aspect of our experience. Study of the Bible helps us deepen our knowledge of God.
At a point when the good in my life seemed at a very low ebb--I had had two miscarriages and was beginning to see my longed-for child as a far-off dream--I turned to the Bible and to a book that had been in our house since I married. This book, which has done so much to give me a fuller understanding of the Bible's transforming message, is Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science. When I began to read and pray, I was suffering pain following the second miscarriage. The pain ceased within a few hours. Continuing to read, I felt the assurance that I would find the answer to my need as I learned more of God. Science and Health points out, ''It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony'' (p. 390).
As I studied these two books together, a deeper understanding of the nature of God, of my relation to Him, and of the way to express this relationship in Christian living, began to develop--and it continues to do so. The result has been so much good in my life, I could fill this newspaper with it. Three fine sons figure largely among the joys, healings, and spiritual progress that knowing God, good, better has brought to my life.
Overflowing good! This is what occurs as, through study, prayer, and putting what we are learning into practice in daily life, we become acquainted with our heavenly Father, God. For instance, learning of God as infinite Love teaches us to trust divine Love to care for us and to unfold the perfect spiritual ideas that awaken us to the good already at hand. Didn't Christ Jesus say, ''The kingdom of God is at hand''? (Mark 1:15) This kingdom includes all good!
In order to experience more good, we need to be willing to ''be at peace,'' as the book of Job urges. No element of doubt or fear can cloud our awareness of the presence of God, of good, with us. ''Fear not'' is another, often repeated, Bible instruction. And the book of Isaiah tells us why we need not fear: ''Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness'' (41:10). A steadfast, calm trust in God's care enables us to see the good already at hand for us to claim.
''Acquaint now thyself with him''--refuse to let any fear rob you of your peace of mind and joy in discovery, and see the overflowing good that is yours.
You can find more articles like this one in the Christian Science Sentinel, a weekly magazine.
