Love Made Practical

BERNADINE E. AVDEK

Have you ever been in a frightening situation and wondered if divine Love could possibly lead you out of it?

The author of I John speaks of the Love that casts out fear: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."^{I John 4:18;} Christian Science gives the answer: we can know and feel perfect Love and its law. The "love" John speaks of is more than an attribute of God—it is Love, God, actively holding man in perfect harmony. And we can demonstrate this harmony, as the Bible promises: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."^{Isa. 26:3;} Understanding God's nature, we can trust His goodness, and the impurities of the carnal mind that claim to hold us in the grip of fear, hatred, doubt, hypocrisy, can be proved unreal.

The Master, Christ Jesus, gave us a commandment; it comes to us as law. He said, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."^{John 13:34;} How can you and I obey this commandment to love each other, when wrongdoing, sickness, and dying are constantly engendering fear? How can we make love practical in everyday living? Christ, Truth, present and active in human consciousness, gives the spiritual sense of man. The love we are to acquaint ourselves with derives its power from divine Mind and enables us to look beyond fear—first, in moral courage stemming from right desire to know the man God has created for Himself. In this perfect creation, Christian Science teaches, there is no belief in a power opposed to the government of God, divine Love.