Article April 26, 1975 Issue

Dissolving Human Will

GERTRUDE E. WOLFINGER

As I watched the first efforts of a would-be water skier, I learned a valuable lesson. At one point this instruction was given: "Don't try to pull yourself up, because you'll bend your arms and spoil your balance. Let the boat pull you, and you'll naturally do the right thing. You'll be riding on top of the water instead of plunging into it." This proved true, and the skier was well on his way.

Many of our troubles involve an element of unyielding human will—doing things our way instead of God's—though we may be unaware of its influence. Actions based on mere human opinions or inclinations are often faulty. Mrs. Eddy gives us this helpful guidance to counteract the influence of human will: "In patient obedience to a patient God, let us labor to dissolve with the universal solvent of Love the adamant of error,—self-will, self-justification, and self-love,—which wars against spirituality and is the law of sin and death."^{Science and Health, p. 242;}

Christ Jesus, humanity's Way-shower, recognized his mission to do God's will. He said, "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me."^{John 6:38;} To follow in his footsteps, we must accept the basic premise that God is the perfect Father, and man, the perfect son of God. And we must learn how to apply this truth in everyday life.