Not just tomorrow – now!
It’s always encouraging to think about recovery. Yet when recovery gets drawn out and it seems like general goodness is stalled, we might start to feel tinges of hopelessness. We may ask, Are solutions or healing reserved only for the distant future, eluding our reach today as smoke evades the grasp of our fingers?
People all over the globe are working so very hard to solve so many tough issues. As part of those conscientious efforts, this can be a productive time to think about the concept of widespread goodness from a different perspective, even from a prayerful one.
Jesus’ teachings and healing ministry showed that delays in goodness aren’t inevitable. For instance, he prayed, “Thy kingdom come.” “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Monitor founder Mary Baker Eddy gives this spiritual sense of that line: “Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever-present” (p. 16). The utter allness and goodness of God exist presently – yes, right now.
This standpoint is foundational to Christian Science. More than simply a positive outlook, God’s present, universal goodness can be proven. The goodness of God can no more be suspended than can the mathematical laws of addition be put out of operation.
In a heartening way, this relates to how we can pray about problems, including global ones. Jesus once told his disciples: “Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting” (John 4:35, New Revised Standard Version).
Is it possible to “look around” today and recognize prayerfully that the harvest of God’s pure goodness is fully present and available right now? Jesus’ understanding of God, who is ever-present divine Mind, can also become our perspective. Mrs. Eddy observed: “Jesus required neither cycles of time nor thought in order to mature fitness for perfection and its possibilities. He said that the kingdom of heaven is here, and is included in Mind; that while ye say, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest, I say, Look up, not down, for your fields are already white for the harvest; and gather the harvest by mental, not material processes” (“Unity of Good,” pp. 11-12).
These inspiring ideas were so helpful when I was ill with a strain of flu that was widely believed to come with an inevitably arduous and lengthy recovery. I asked myself as I prayed about this, “Since the goodness of God is perpetual, should I wait until tomorrow to declare it and recognize it?” I was fully healed in that instant, simply upon realizing that right now, in any given moment, we can recognize and embrace the divine goodness that cures and restores.
Timeless, always-present allness defines the nature of God, and this authoritative allness encompasses everyone. When we hear of delayed or stalled-out recovery from problems of whatever kind, we can be more conscientious in following Jesus’ example and admitting that God’s utter goodness is happening now. Unity, health, and freedom are qualities of God, good, and therefore are always expressed in God’s children. A steady awareness of God’s goodness enables us to experience this more tangibly here and now.
“To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings,” says the very first line in Science and Health (p. vii). The Bible puts it this way: “Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (II Corinthians 6:2). If now, this day, is the accepted time, then when, specifically, should we accept it? It’s not always easy, but step by step, through persistent prayer, we can more consistently do this – now.
Some more great ideas! To read or share an article for teenagers on the value of turning to God, good, throughout our day titled “How can I feel inspired all day long?” please click through to the TeenConnect section of www.JSH-Online.com. There is no paywall for this content.
