Good: Already at hand
It’s an age-old question: When will the good times come? Or reappear? We may feel that communities were less divided in the past, or that the economic situation felt more secure. Perhaps we feel we’re lacking goodness on a more personal level.
A version of this question echoes all the way back to biblical times, when religious leaders challenged Christ Jesus, asking him when the kingdom of God would come. Jesus answered, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20, 21).
Centuries later, Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, expanded on this in her book “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures”: “This kingdom of God ‘is within you,’ – is within reach of man’s consciousness here, and the spiritual idea reveals it. In divine Science, man possesses this recognition of harmony consciously in proportion to his understanding of God” (p. 576).
From that standpoint, the harmony we long for is not dependent on people or a particular confluence of events. It is found in spiritual thinking that acknowledges God, Spirit, as the Principle of life; as immortal Love, the foundation of our relationships; and as the one, infinite Mind, the governing intelligence of all. Spiritual thinking uplifts the human experience, inspiring our activities and guiding us.
This dynamic is evident in the healing work Jesus did. Just before the religious officials challenged Jesus about the kingdom of heaven, he had healed 10 people who were suffering from leprosy (see Luke 17:12-19). These men had called out to Jesus and appealed for mercy. Jesus had told them to go show themselves to the priests – who had the legal authority to confirm their healing so that they could rejoin society. “As they went, they were cleansed,” the Gospel records.
At the time, leprosy was a feared disease, was considered highly contagious, and was a huge hardship to families and communities, but Jesus didn’t analyze the disease or discuss its symptoms or probable path. His healings blessed not only individuals but whole communities by enabling those who had been outcasts to return.
In considering Jesus’ healings, Mrs. Eddy points out, “In divine Science, man is the true image of God. The divine nature was best expressed in Christ Jesus, who threw upon mortals the truer reflection of God and lifted their lives higher than their poor thought-models would allow, – thoughts which presented man as fallen, sick, sinning, and dying. The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea, – perfect God and perfect man, – as the basis of thought and demonstration” (Science and Health, p. 259).
When facing any problem – be it relationships, finances, health, or politics – we can start with God. We can pray to understand that God is completely good and that man (the true identity of each one of us) is the reflection or expression of God – entirely spiritual and good. Then, we are actually beginning with the solution. Understanding the harmonious nature of the original, God, is how we discover the harmony of our true being as His likeness, which we can then experience in our daily life.
Once when on a work trip, I fell down some steep stone steps. I stepped away from the group I was with and turned to God – the source of my life and my mobility – in prayer. I felt assured of God’s ever-presence comforting me as well as the group and the community we were visiting.
The thought came that I was “unfallen, upright, pure, and free.” These words are part of this passage from Science and Health: “Through discernment of the spiritual opposite of materiality, even the way through Christ, Truth, man will reopen with the key of divine Science the gates of Paradise which human beliefs have closed, and will find himself unfallen, upright, pure, and free ...” (p. 171).
The assurance of God’s ever-presence dispelled fear. Instead, I was confident that my true identity was spiritual and that I could not be outside of God’s loving care. Soon I was able to rejoin my group, much to the surprise of many. Throughout the remainder of the rigorous trip, I continued enjoying complete freedom of movement.
If there is an unexpected bump in the road, we can still keep our thought on God – relying on Love as the compass guiding us, Truth as the light illumining the path, Principle as the foundation supporting us, and Mind as the wisdom communicating with us.
Adapted from an article published in the Nov. 25, 2024, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
