Article January 18, 1993 Issue

Meeting the human need

Following Jesus' example, we can discover the spiritual resources that truly meet our needs.

Robert A. Johnson

The college girl came bounding into the Sunday School class. Before she had time to sit, she began talking. "That statement on the wall at the front of the church is obviously false," she remarked. "It says, 'Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need.' There are wars going on. There's famine in Africa. There's discrimination, poverty, and homeless people everywhere. That statement doesn't ask anyone to do anything. There are no requirements to be met. It just says that God meets every human need. If that were true, these things wouldn't be happening."

The words the student referred to are from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mrs. Eddy. They are often displayed in Christian Science churches, along with a Bible verse such as one from Psalms that says, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." These quotations draw attention to the immediate availability of the powerful yet tender love that characterizes God, who is Love.

Since God is not a physical being but is, as the Bible says, infinite Spirit, His love is spiritual. Therefore the way He meets human needs is through spiritual, not material, means. As tempting as it is to believe that the only answer to humanity's needs is money, food, or housing, these things of themselves will never be sufficient fully to overcome human misery. The way taught and practiced by God's Son, Christ Jesus, requires prayer and an understanding of divine law to bring the needed healing and inspire the most practical help. Jesus utilized spiritual resources to deal with poverty, illness, and other human needs. Through purely spiritual means he healed the sick and fed the multitudes, and he taught that we could do the same. He said, "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you."

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