Article May 8, 1971 Issue

"A token for good"

WILLIAM A. BUELL

The Psalmist, beseeching God to hear and protect him, reached out in prayer for just a token of good. He pleaded, "Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me."^{Ps. 86:17;} There do seem to be times when humans are assaulted by the discouraging arguments of lack and discord, and when unfriendly people are aggressively questioning whether God is of any help at all. The Psalmist's plea does not seem out of step at these times— a prayer for some good to appear somewhere as an assurance that God's presence and love do really exist.

Those studying Christian Science find that the basic fact it teaches is that God, Spirit, is the creator, and that His creation, man and the universe, is spiritual and good, reflecting Him. This scientific fact, glimpsed even in a degree, rebukes the counterfeit sense of a limited, material universe and a mortal man opposed to God, good.

In human experience, the tokens of ever-present Life come in the saving graces of healing. They are evidenced in better morals, greater enlightenment and inspiration, and a more practical idealism. Mrs. Eddy describes this gradual, yet progressive, unfoldment out of human sense. She writes in Science and Health, the textbook of Christian Science, "Think not to thwart the spiritual ultimate of all things, but come naturally into Spirit through better health and morals and as the result of spiritual growth."^{Science and Health, p. 485;} As individuals see and feel these tokens of God's love, they will receive more until their resurrected sense realizes the whole.