Article January 2, 1960 ISSUE

GOD IS WITH US

GLENNA GOLDEN WOLLAM

To the early worshipers of the Supreme Being, God appeared as a holy presence with them. With what joy we learn in Christian Science that God is Love, the demonstrable Principle of all good, that Love is eternally with us, and, most inspiring of all, that every sincere seeker for Truth can prove these vital facts in daily living!

Referring to the healing works of Christ Jesus and of Christian Science, which come from the operation of divine Principle, Mary Baker Eddy says (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Pref., p. xi ): "Now, as then, these mighty works are not supernatural, but supremely natural. They are the sign of Immanuel, or 'God with us,'—a divine influence ever present in human consciousness and repeating itself, coming now as was promised aforetime,

"To preach deliverance to the captives [of sense],
And recovering of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty them that are bruised."

Christ Jesus proved beyond doubt that God is all-presence. He knew that God, infinite Spirit, created man in His own image and likeness, spiritual and perfect, and that a mortal is not God's man, but is a false concept of the real man. Furthermore, Jesus taught that the truth he demonstrated is universal and eternal and that everyone can follow his example by actively living and demonstrating this truth.

Christian Science teaches that the real selfhood of each one of us is the expression of God. Therefore, because God is Love, man expresses loveliness, goodness, beauty, and purity. Because God is Mind, man expresses omnipresent intelligence and wisdom and embodies an infinite supply of right ideas. Man can never be separated from God's presence.

The questions may arise: If all this is true of God and His ideas, why isn't it manifested in my experience? Why am I so fearful, unhappy, sick, and poor?

The answer may be found in this statement (Science and Health, pp. 286, 287 ): "Sin, sickness, and death are comprised in human material belief, and belong not to the divine Mind. They are without a real origin or existence." When we erroneously accept human material belief as our thinking or as another's, we seem to suffer the discordant consequences of such a belief. But there is nothing to keep us from finding out and demonstrating the true sense of ourselves and others.

Christian Science enables us to do this. Proportionate to our readiness to drop the false for the true, do we find God's love with us. At the same time we find that evil is not with us, because it cannot exist in the all-inclusive presence of God, good. Does not the Bible say (John 1:3 ), "All things were made by him; and without him was not am thing made that was made"?

We always have the opportunity of following the example of John, who said (I John 1:3 ), "Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." We are conscious of God's presence in proportion to our expression of divine Love and our seeing others as Love's expressions. We cannot know the presence of God while acting like mortals or believing that others are truly mortals. We feel the presence of Love's ideas with us when we are demonstrating the omnipresence of God.

A student of Christian Science took a temporary position which involved a period of instruction, followed by outside calls, each morning. Her employer became increasingly impatient and belligerent. The Christian Scientist prayed to bear witness to the truth of the situation. She knew a disturbing mortal is not God's child, but is a false concept of being, which has no real existence.

One morning when the student went to the office, she soon found herself the victim of the employer's hateful denunciations. Calmly the Scientist faced the outburst, silently declaring its unreality and the presence and power of Love alone.

The following morning there was a complete change in the employer's attitude. She manifested kindness and reasonableness and explained how difficult her work had been because of a lack of teaching materials. She thanked the Scientist for her forbearance and expressed the hope that she would continue with the work.

As one demonstrates the power of Christ through Christian Science, he finds the evidence of God's omnipresence. In the words of our Leader, Mrs. Eddy (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 331 ), "This supreme potential Principle reigns in the realm of the real, and is 'God with us,' the I am."

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