Editorial January 2, 1954 Issue

THE WILL OF GOD

Robert Ellis Key

The master Christian, Christ Jesus, came to do the will of his Father, God. He said (John 6:38), "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." The will of God is to do good. In fulfilling God's will Jesus healed the sick, fed the multitude, and regenerated the sinnner through the Christ. He did not possess this power as a human being, nor did he exercise human will to accomplish it. He claimed man's sonship with God for himself and for all men. He said (John 5: 30), "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."

Jesus subjugated human will and personal opinion. Because of his spirituality he was always receptive of good and responsive to the divine will. The exercise of human will is often detrimental to the practice of Christian Science. It is a hindrance and not a help to its demonstration. We must watch continuously against the claims of human will and the human intellect. Sometimes the questions are asked: "How can I know what God's will is? Does God speak to me?" Yes, God does speak to us through the Christ. Mary Baker Eddy says in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 332), "Christ is the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness." The message of Christ referred to by Mrs. Eddy may not necessarily be audible to the ear, although on occasion it comes as clearly as words that are spoken. "The divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness" is heard in the stillness of Soul, when material sense is silenced and our mental shades are raised to let in the sunlight of heaven.

One way in which the Christ speaks to us is through the voice of conscience. A story is told of the American theologian Theodore Parker which illustrates this point. When he was a small boy he was taken by his father to visit an outlying part of the farm; but soon he was sent home alone because his father decided to go further. On his way back the little fellow came across a small pond on the edge of which he noticed a tortoise sunning itself. Having seen other boys kill insects and small animals, he thought it manly to follow their example. He raised his stick to strike at the little creature when suddenly a voice within him said, "It is wrong!"

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