Bringing stability to unstable times

Instability in the world is hardly new. Going back to Bible times, for instance, for centuries foreign powers had ruled the country of Jesus’ forebears, and during his time the Romans occupied it. And yet the four Gospels show that the Master possessed a peace and serenity that he taught and shared with others. He said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

What was Jesus seeing that allowed him to calm a storm and walk over the waves of a large lake? What did he know that allowed him to reassure and strengthen – and heal – those around him? He once compared his teachings to a house that withstands both storm and flood because it is built on a rock. And he said that those with even a mustard seed of faith could change the world.

Jesus reassured, strengthened, and healed those around him by knowing that God, and not the world, is the source of permanent good. His teachings point to spiritual reality, the ever-present existence and universe that are the eternal expression of the one infinite, all-good God, Spirit. This universe is entirely independent of a physical concept of the universe.

As we turn away from the false evidence of the physical senses, we can begin to grasp intuitively the naturalness of infinite good and harmony. As we cultivate an understanding of and trust in this spiritual universe created by God to manifest Him, we come to see more and more its substantiality and tangibility.

Jesus said of the kingdom of heaven, God’s omnipresent government, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21, New King James Version). The kingdom of God within us – the consciousness of stability that God gives all of us as His children, His spiritual image and likeness – allows us to bring out stability in our lives and in the world.

Christian Science reveals that discord is not only not inevitable – and this is a radical but empowering idea – but impossible, not part of the sustaining, eternal Life that is God.

Beyond the concept of life as a series of good or bad historical, physiological, or psychological events, Life is the unfolding of what was revealed to Moses as “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14). This all-harmonious, infinite being is neither opposed nor self-divided and discordant. God is all-loving and all-powerful, and His creation reflects His all-harmonious nature. Individually and collectively we can prove this absolute truth through our compassion, stillness, trust in the supremacy of good, and efforts to help humanity progress.

I’ve had many opportunities to demonstrate the permanence and stability of good in my own life and to help to prove that stability in the life of my country. During my adult lifetime the province of Québec has held two referenda on whether to leave the rest of Canada. The margin of the “no” vote was close in each instance. But people accepted the results.

My prayer during the second referendum was to remove fear from my thought. I asked myself, “What really defines me? What gives me identity? History, language, geography?” I prayed to see more fully that I live in the kingdom of God, where all of God’s children live in harmony, respect, and peace, governed by divine Love. Although I come originally from a part of Canada that is largely English speaking, seeing myself as spiritual and God-governed has impelled me to learn French and learn about French-Canadians, and to feel and show an even greater sense of brotherhood with all my compatriots. While many political issues between Québec and the rest of Canada are ongoing, the country remains stable. I feel that this spiritual way of seeing myself and those around me has contributed to that stability.

Mary Baker Eddy lived in a tumultuous time and place. The United States Civil War, during which her husband was captured and her grown son nearly died, almost saw the violent breakup of her country. But she wrote, “I learned long ago that the world could neither deprive me of something nor give me anything ...” (“Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896,” p. 281).

How comforting to know that the world can neither give us stability nor take it away. We have that stability now in God’s spiritual reality, and can bring that consciousness to calm, uplift, and redeem the world around us.

Adapted from an editorial published in the June 17, 2024, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.