Article April 10, 1971 Issue

The Action of God's Grace

THOMAS DOUGLAS SUTTON

In elementary chemistry classes an interesting experiment is performed to demonstrate a process known as osmosis. A sugar solution is placed in a semipermeable membrane, which is then put into a vessel of pure water. It is found that the level of the solution inside the membrane begins to rise, indicating a movement of the pure water into the solution but no movement of sugar in the other direction.

This process is of great importance in the biological sciences. It can also serve to hint, in a general way, the working of God's grace, which is usually understood to be God's loving favor taking practical effect in human affairs. This influence flows unceasingly from the heavenly perfection into human consciousness to purify and elevate it. Worldly imperfection, however, is barred from any possibility of polluting the divine source of good and its impartations.

In Christian Science, reality is considered to be God and all that He has caused to exist. God is Spirit, self-existent Life and Love. He is the eternal reality and Principle of all creation, which manifests His perfect nature. This concept of being is beautifully described in the first chapter of Genesis, which concludes, "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."^{Gen. 1:31} Since God and His creation are good and real, all that is unlike good is not real. Unreality, then, is a suppositional opposite of God, variously called evil, devil, materialism, or sin.