What the World Most Needs
What is most needed in the world today is love. All races could dwell together in greater harmony if people trusted in a higher law than human law to control their lives. This law is that all of us have one God and creator. Instead of human pride governing nations-and not enough love-it is possible for us all to live together on the basis that God is Love.
The son of God, Christ Jesus, said, according to the book of Mark in the Bible: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these" (12:30, 31). To love God with all our deepest thoughts and being, with all our mind and strength, then, means to learn what God is. To live in accord with His laws, seeking His guidance and doing those things that are loving to ourselves and to our neighbor, is to obey God's law. God is everywhere, is ever present, and is all-power. This is what determines God's government of the universe. His laws, which bless humankind, are merciful because God is divine Love.They are sound because He is divine Principle.
In seeking to understand God, Christian Scientists find that study of the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy unlocks a deeper meaning of the Bible's teachings. Mrs. Eddy discovered Christian Science, which is the law behind the teachings of Jesus. So Christian Science is established on Love.
Being loving to one another attracts people and draws them together. Respecting each other and having concern for each other's welfare make us more responsible. These actions are more than just nice deeds; they help us to express God and follow the example of Jesus.
Just how can you be responsive to another person's needs? By making the effort to express kindness and consideration, and genuinely showing interest in him or her. By having less pride and trying to help him or her. By giving up your own selfishness to do what is right. As you express love in daily living, you'll find that your nature is transformed. It is possible and practical to become more gentle and thoughtful toward others, and aware of their feelings. And the wonderful thing is, this brings more joy into your own life.
Many Bible stories show that happiness, success, and progress don't depend on the accumulation of material things. In other words, real prosperity is found in what we give to our neighbor-not in what we take from him or her. Mrs. Eddy wrote in a poem that "Love alone is Life" (Poems, p. 7). Living and loving go together.
Love has the power to change a situation from fear to hope, and from mistrust to confidence. A simple example gave me a glimpse of this truth. An undomesticated cat arrived in our neighborhood. At first it would not have anything to do with us, and would spit at us when it saw us. But each time it did this, we would talk to it gently. Over a couple of months, the cat became more friendly, responding to the love we expressed toward it. To me, this indicated how God's law of love works from day to day. People as well as situations respond to kindness and gentleness-His love does change things. Prayer works. Having faith in God helps make thought receptive to Him. But it's the striving to avail oneself of God's help and to make oneself better that establishes individual lives in a useful and profitable activity that helps others. Any desire to do right can be seen as a form of prayer.
As the world searches for a way out of its difficulties, be they famines, wars, or injustices, individual efforts to express love will bring more solutions. To love someone you like is easy; the challenge is to love everyone-even those you do not find likeable. But because we are all God's children, who have the same divine Parent, this goal is achievable.
