Never say always?
A Christian Science perspective.
Many of us have times when we feel we’re at the end of our rope. The world can often seem very unfair. But there is always an empowering or saving response available within us – however little it may seem initially.
Admittedly, “always,” like “never,” is an extreme word. When I was little and said something like, “I never like to eat peas,” my mom would respond, “Never is a long time.” The point was to be thoughtful in my use of the word – not so quick to assume what will never or always be. And when it feels as if I’m at the end of my rope, thinking it’s all too much or never going to turn around, I’ve learned to be thoughtful about what will always be.
I have now long enjoyed peas. Yet I can’t say that I always will. This isn’t an issue with peas. It’s just that always means every moment, forever. And the experiences taken in through the human senses prove to be temporary and changeable. Real certainty relates to something spiritual; in other words, the expression of the essential identity and qualities that God gives everyone.
Our creator is infinite, divine Love, so it is our expression of Love that constitutes our essential identity. As the Bible says, “[E]very one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God” (I John 4:7). In expressing or reflecting divine Love, we will always find something of God and of our God-given identity – more of life and purpose. We will find what we always are able to do and always will be able to do.
Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science, wrote: “Doing unto others as we would that they do by us, is immortality’s self. Intrepid, self-oblivious love fulfils the law and is self-sustaining and eternal” (“The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany,” p. 275).
The world tends to measure our value and security – or lack thereof – by our money in the bank, our possession of certain items, or our employment status and history. But what our lives ultimately stem from is the divine Love we reflect.
It seems that life demands, while also facilitates, our effort to love. The more we experience, the more deeply we need to love or honor our spiritual nature. And the more we do this, the more we find circumstances that enable us to continue to learn more about our true nature.
When it seems that what we’ve known, possessed, or been able to do is crumbling, or even gone, there is an answer. And that answer is found in the reflection of Love.
This reflecting is what we can always count on or build with. It’s the self-perpetuating identity and substance of our lives. At any time it can bring small, immediate answers that grow into big ones, even if you feel you’re at the end of your rope.
Remember, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world.
Matthew 28:20, J.B. Phillips
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