Good replacing evil
Have you ever thought of the Bible as, largely, a timeless narrative of good replacing evil?
Throughout the Scriptures there are examples of how God, who is all good, cleanses human thought of whatever is unlike Deity’s nature – anything unlike integrity, compassion, wisdom, and harmonious action – and instead reveals our spiritual nature, the consequence of our being made in the likeness of God, Spirit.
This is a powerful concept. It empowers us to more fully comprehend and experience the amazing life that is ours as the expression of God, divine Life itself – each of us has a unique life that is individual and permanent, and that could never be upended or replaced.
For instance, the first book of the Bible, Genesis, recounts how a man named Abraham believed that God was expecting him to sacrifice his son, but this mistaken notion was replaced by the truth that God, Love, is never the initiator of violence or death (see chapter 22). In Exodus, the fear and panic of a people fleeing from a large army gave way to the proof that God, divine Mind, had a solution to protect and deliver them (see chapter 14). When Christ Jesus came on the scene, his godliness replaced illness with health and sin with reformation, evidenced by his extensive healing ministry.
Today, too, the divine Mind is active in human consciousness, swapping out misconceptions and limitations with the truth of God’s righteousness and everyone’s reflected spiritual integrity and purpose as God’s children. When we think and act from the standpoint that God is the creator of us all, and that each and every one of us is the spiritual, beloved child of our mutual Father-Mother God, we feel the effects of this truth. We find it natural for hate to be replaced with love, hostility with peace, and fear with confidence and trust.
I experienced this once when I worked in a large office. Originally I was hired for a low-level job, but as time went by the supervisor wanted to promote me to another position. Unfortunately, this meant the person currently filling that role would have to go. She was not happy about that, and I was concerned about the situation of “replacing” her.
I knew from other experiences that looking at a situation from a spiritual, rather than material, point of view heals discord and reveals the right solution for all involved. So I prayed, affirming that all the offspring of divine Mind, which included both me and the other employee, are always in their right place. Each of God’s sons and daughters has skills and talents that are needed and appreciated. Each is unique, distinct, and irreplaceable, never superfluous or invasive. Our Father-Mother God loves us equally and has nothing but the best for each of us. And because God, good, is boundless, one person’s good never diminishes another’s.
A passage from “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, came to mind: “Let Christian Science, instead of corporeal sense, support your understanding of being, and this understanding will supplant error with Truth, replace mortality with immortality, and silence discord with harmony” (p. 495).
As I prayed along these lines, the thought came that God, divine Mind, “places” and “re-places” each of His children. We could not possibly “replace” another, nor could they “replace” us, because at all times we each have our own unique niche to fill in expressing God-given qualities. And if our right place, or that of another, were to change, that could only be a blessing for all involved. There is no adverse “replacing,” there is only beneficial “re-placing.”
I felt assured that everything would work out. And it did: I am grateful to say that the other employee was offered another position in the company, which she was pleased to accept, and I went on to rejoice in my new job, too.
The divine Truth that uplifts and heals us is ever operative. Through prayer, we can witness divine Love replacing discord and fear with harmony in our lives every day. Thank you, Father-Mother God.
