Article February 8, 1982 Issue

Coexistence with the infinite God

NANCY E. CONWELL

Have you ever let some symptom or description of sickness develop in your thinking to such proportions that you felt like a young David facing a Goliath? When this happens, the problem sometimes seems so big that we may wonder how to go about meeting it. This is neither a time for broadcasting our troubles nor for seeking sympathy. It's a time for explicit scientific prayer, a time to quietly perceive and accept man's coexistence with divine Principle.

In Christian Science, God is understood as the infinite Principle of the universe. Man is His indestructible spiritual idea, or reflection, manifesting His goodness and perfection. Mrs. Eddy explains, "Man's origin and existence being in Him, man is the ultimatum of perfection, and by no means the medium of imperfection."^{Miscellaneous Writings, p. 79.}

Whatever claims to be unlike good comes not from divine Principle and therefore has no intelligence or power. If symptoms indicate that we or someone we love is sick, we can ask ourselves, "Is this happening to God?" If not, it has no foundation in Truth; and recognizing this, we can refuse to let it take root in our thinking. A spiritual-alertness check can bring the awakening that is needed. Ask yourself: How did I handle reports of sickness at work today? Did I believe them? Did I deny the news of an epidemic at school, or did I make a reality of it and strengthen it by passing it on? Did I accept or reject the symptoms of disease described on television?

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