Editorial April 9, 1927 Issue

Turning to God

Duncan Sinclair

How often men turn to God only as a last resort! The belief of the world in the power of matter is so great, and the children of men have been so assiduously schooled to have faith in this power, that frequently it is only after they have completely exhausted their trust in it that they will think of turning to Spirit, God, for surcease from their woes. Mrs. Eddy states the position accurately when she writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 322): "The sharp experiences of belief in the supposititious life of matter, as well as our disappointments and ceaseless woes, turn us like tired children to the arms of divine Love. Then we begin to learn Life in divine Science."

Reluctance to turn to God is often especially noticeable in the case of invalids. Not infrequently people will suffer for years from some malady, trying all the material so-called remedies that are brought to their notice, in the vain attempt to recover their health, and even then they will turn a deaf ear to the appeal of Christian Science to turn to God. If the situation be examined, two reasons may be found for this hesitancy, this reluctance: one is that they are not yet convinced that material skill has been exhausted on their behalf; the other, that they are not properly informed as to the true nature of God, which is that His will is to do good continually, and therefore that they should turn to Him for healing. Mrs. Eddy, referring to the reluctance of sick people to seek God's help, writes in the Preface to Science and Health (p. x), "Few invalids will turn to God till all physical supports have failed, because there is so little faith in His disposition and power to heal disease."

In the last sixty years, there has been a markedly increasing tendency for men to turn to God for help in time of sickness; and Christian Science must be given the credit for this. Before Mrs. Eddy's discovery was made, the Science of spiritual healing was unknown. It is true that prayer was made to God, and that faith and hope were uplifted by it, but the Science which Christ Jesus knew and practiced during his ministry on earth was hidden from men. Whenever Mrs. Eddy saw what was implied by the truth that God is infinite good, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient Mind,—namely, that evil in its every form, including disease, is unreal,—she discerned the mode of approach to God whereby His power could be utilized to destroy the belief of disease. In other words, she realized the full purport of Jesus' words, "With God all things are possible," and of Paul's "If God be for us, who can be against us?"

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