Driving With God, Driving With Love

The driver of the car in front of us suddenly slowed down and, without signaling, turned left. We came to a quick stop. There was no accident, but it had been a close call.

Both drivers had been wrong - one for being thoughtless, the other for driving too fast.

At such times people may gratefully sigh and say or think something like "Thanks, God, for taking care of us once again." But the book of Psalms tells us, "The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works" (145:9). And we see signs of God's "tender mercies" more fully, feel His constantly protecting presence with us, when we obey Him.

Nearly everyone wants to avoid accidents. And if someone has been frightened - especially by the results of his or her own carelessness - he or she may resolve to drive with more intelligence and even with more love toward the other drivers on the road.

Persistently ignoring either the rules of good driving or the deeper requirements of brotherly love isn't being obedient to God. And resolving to do better is not always easy to follow through on, especially when you're in a hurry, caught in frustrating traffic, or irritated by someone's driving. That's when an understanding of what it means to come into accord with God can be such a help to us. When we're one with God in thought, we can neither be the cause nor the victim of an accident.

Unity with God is a scientific fact of our existence that can be demonstrated. To be one with Him does not mean that we are God; rather it shows that we are being governed by God. Through learning God's law - the Science of Christ - we come to see that God is divine Principle and Love, infinite and intelligent, the divine Mind that governs all creation, including each one of us.

When we understand the spiritual facts of God's unchanging perfection and goodness, it becomes more apparent to us that a perfect God could only create a perfect son or daughter. Your own true identity, and the identity of everyone, must be as perfect as God is. He did not make sons and daughters capable of expressing the thoughtlessness and impatience that cause accidents, since we are the expression of divine Love. Because, as the Bible says, God is Spirit (see John 4:24), His creation is spiritual - composed of good qualities such as life and immortality. Our true substance is spiritual and indestructible.

These are provable facts of creation that we can come into accord with - see evidence of - by consistently striving to express the qualities of God. Then we find that, instead of being angry with others, we see them in a clearer light. Not through the unreliable physical senses, but through the light of God's love. This truer seeing, or loving, is the power of God at work in our lives. It is the same truth that protected Christ Jesus from the harmful actions of others on more than one occasion.

As we see others in a kinder way, invariably we find ourselves being kinder and begin to give up the selfishness and egotism that influence us to assert ourselves and be first. Our lives become filled with opportunities to express that spiritual kindness toward humanity that is a true blessing for everyone on highways - or anywhere else.

In the long run, what the world needs in order to solve all its problems of human interaction is the desire of each individual to be more allied with God. And the basic brotherhood and sisterhood we have with one another as God's children can become more evident through prayer.

"Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures," written by Mary Baker Eddy (who discovered Christian Science), says, "What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds" (Pg. 4). Such sincere prayer to demonstrate the patience, courtesy, and selflessness that come from God makes for a very good driver, someone who drives with love and so protects himself or herself, as well as fellow travelers.