Things Working Together for Good
THE Bible is filled with timely, practical truths. This is what Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, the Founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist, shows us. The Bible's promises aren't unattainable ideals or pleasant sentiments with little real value, but provable facts that can change our lives.
Science and Health helps us understand the Science of the Scriptures. It explains the eternal, unalterable truth that underlies the inspired teachings of the Bible, and shows us that this truth is applicable in our lives now.
What is this truth? The Bible-based teaching that God is the only power, exclusively good--infinite Love itself. The wonderful fact that man, as God's spiritual image, reflects His dominion, His perfection and completeness, right now. This is the ultimate and only reality. Why? Because God is Spirit, as Christ Jesus taught, and God is the only creator. Therefore Spirit's creation, including our own true selfhood, is spiritual and indestructible; it's not material, fragile, subject to suffering and decline. God, limitless good, couldn't have created anything contrary to His own perfect nature.
Science and Health shows us how we can apply this truth in our day-to-day experience--to the cure of physical ills; to the healing of the destructive, undermining tendencies of materialistic thinking; to the repairing of damaged relationships; and so on. In Romans we read, ''All things work together for good to them that love God'' (8:28). And in the pages of Science and Health we find out why, and how we can make this Scriptural promise practical through prayer.
The injustice in human experience can be disheartening, but it's not the actual authority in our lives. It's not what's really going on, even at this moment--not in the most profound sense. That's why something can be done to bring about change for the better. That ''something'' has nothing to do with personal will or a manipulation of individuals or of events. It has to do with humbly yielding to God, divine Mind, in prayer. It has to do with listening for God's pure intuitions, and gaining clearer views of spiritual existence, of the actual, God- ordained status of creation.
The carnal mind, continually it seems, imposes its evil claims on humanity. ''Look at this,'' it insists. ''There's nothing you can do about it.'' But God hasn't created man subject to this so-called mind. All the while evil is insisting things aren't working together in the right way, God is showing us the wholeness and completeness and well-being of what He has created. His creation, individual man, His spiritual likeness, is safe and satisfied, filling the niche established for him throughout eternity.
The book of Proverbs says, ''There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand'' (19:21). Ultimately, it doesn't really matter what the human mind calculates or what limits it says are impenetrable. What matters is what God is knowing of His creation, what He is maintaining in harmony forever. The coming together of good in human experience is a natural appearing, an unfolding, of the divine order. It's natural because the order of God's spiritual creation is the only reality.
Over the years I've found that the unfoldment of good is natural--and is certainly far better than anything I could personally imagine. Good has only seemed delayed or obstructed when I've focused on my own personal projection of events, or when I've been deluded into thinking I'm pretty much on my own, separate from God. But when I've been willing to give up this false, fearful sense, and yield to the ever-present wisdom of divine Love, forward steps have come at just the right time, in just the right way.
Science and Health points out, ''The spiritual reality is the scientific fact in all things'' (p. 207). On the basis of this understanding, we can prove step by step that all things do indeed ''work together for good to them that love God.''
