Editorial June 30, 1934 Issue

Making Use of God's Good Gifts

Duncan Sinclair

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning," writes James in the first chapter of his epistle. God is the source of all good. From Him emanates everything that is real; and nothing can possibly interfere with His will and power to bestow His perfect gifts upon His children. Mrs. Eddy writes on page 275 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," "No wisdom is wise but His wisdom; no truth is true, no love is lovely, no life is Life but the divine; no good is, but the good God bestows." It is beyond words valuable to know of God's goodness; to be able to think of Him as the one and only source of all reality.

As both the Bible and Christian Science teach, man is the image of God. That is to say, man reflects all the qualities of his Maker. In contemplating the real or spiritual man, however, thought must be detached from the mortal sense of man; otherwise, the true relationship between God and man will not be rightly perceived. Thought should be allowed to dwell on the truth about God; for in this way one realizes His perfect nature and understands man as His perfect reflection. As one does understand God's perfect nature and man as perfectly reflecting Him, one is able correctly to judge of what is called mortal man or a mortal.

What, then, is a mortal? A mortal seems to be conscious of both good and evil, truth and error, harmony and inharmony, life and death. He seems to be constituted of contraries; and the result is perpetual conflict within himself. At one time he believes he experiences health, at another sickness; at one time harmony, at another inharmony. Thus, in human consciousness there appears to be taking place a continual struggle between good and evil; so that when good is in the ascendant harmony prevails, and when evil belief appears to be in the ascendant inharmony has the upper hand.

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