Article August 7, 1920 Issue

Love is Mind's potent provision of abounding good for...

The Christian Science Monitor

Love is Mind's potent provision of abounding good for its image and likeness. That is, love in the sense of loving. Mind, of course, is Love, the All-power that expresses itself in constant and exclusive unfoldment of good. Mind never brings forth evil, because it is eternal, and destructive elements of evil could never be contained in what is everlasting, because destructibility and indestructibility do not mix. In "Unity of Good" Mrs. Eddy's statement of this point is found on page 17: "Error says God must know evil because He knows all things; but Holy Writ declares God told our first parents that in the day when they should partake of the fruit of evil, they must surely die. Would it not absurdly follow that God must perish, if He knows evil and evil necessarily leads to extinction? Rather let us think of God as saying, I am infinite good; therefore I know not evil. Dwelling in light, I can see only the brightness of My own glory."

It is well to know these facts, in order to love rightly, and in order to escape from hatred of any person or thing. Repeatedly in the Bible and in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" there is found the urging to "love your enemies." To hate is not scientific, because it is a belief that there is more than all there is, namely, the allpower that expresses itself in constantly unfolding good. Nor is it Christian; and as authority for this, there is the statement of Christ Jesus, whose words and works are the basis for all that is Christian: "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you . . . For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?"

It is usually easy enough for a person to have a human liking for those who are in agreement with him, who do what he wishes, though even this may grow irksome, since mortal whims and fluctuations carry the human sense of love hither and thither. There is only one absolute basis for loving, and that is Principle. That statement makes it obvious that such affection has nothing in common with mere so-called loving that finds its outlet through the five material senses. Knowing that divine Love and its potent manifestation is all there is, not only enables one to love those who are friendly to him, but to have settled good will toward those as well who are supposed to dislike him. This does not mean that wrong is to be condoned in order to love one's so-called enemies. One cannot do evil that good may come. It does mean that one can know that right where enmity seems to be, there is the activity of divine consciousness. Thus one can quietly oppose a wrong, letting the unwise pass by, while still maintaining active affection for all mankind. If the whole world would turn to Principle on this basis, Principle would be universally manifest in a surprisingly short time.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Love is Mind's potent provision of abounding good for...

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access