Not even death

The Editors

There is a claim about death that could seem beyond daring and ideal, even hopelessly naive. Surely, you might think, it can’t possibly be true. But what if it is? How wonderful! How freeing! How full of hope.

“The only power of evil is to destroy itself,” Mary Baker Eddy writes. “It can never destroy one iota of good” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 186).

At first read, this is a remarkable thought. With all the evil in the world, what a relief to know that none of it, no matter how severe, can ever destroy even the smallest bit of good.

But upon further reflection, such a statement may seem ignorant of history. Think of all the good, innocent people who have died for no reason at all, in any number of countless tragedies since the beginning of human life. From the murder of Abel in Genesis, to the wars of the Middle Ages, to the atrocities of the Holocaust, to the terrorism of 9/11, right up to the tens of thousands of civilians murdered in Syria today, it would appear that evil destroys not just “one iota of good,” but good beyond measure.

No matter how awful things appear to mortal sight, God's boundless love transcends all tragedies and always keeps us safe.

So, what about all the good that seems lost? Is it gone? For all those whose lives have been cut short, has their good been destroyed?

Have you ever wondered what happened to the people whose lives were lost in 9/11 in the moments immediately after they perished? It’s a striking question. And while no one in this world can know the answer, there is one thing we can be assured of: None of those who were killed were ever for a moment separated from God’s love for them. No matter how awful things appear to mortal sight, God’s boundless love transcends all tragedies and always keeps us safe.

The Apostle Paul shares this insight: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38, 39).

Think of that! Not even death! Paul could have omitted death from his list of evils that cannot separate us from God’s love. Instead, he recognized that God’s care for His creation extends beyond death. He knew that death, like terrorism, never succeeds. It always fails in its efforts to sink thought into darkness and despair.

So, what does this mean for those who have perished? We cannot know exactly their experience, but it is surely in accord with God’s nature to instantly comfort and uplift those who have suffered unthinkable evil.

The power of God, good, to destroy evil has been seen and testified to countless times on this earth. That power of good extends beyond this life, too. Even when it appears to succeed in doing its worst, evil is always doomed. Every “iota of good” is guaranteed to prevail.

I know no life divided,
O Lord of life, from Thee;
In Thee is life provided
For all mankind and me:
I know no death, O Father,
Because I live in Thee;
Thy life it is that frees us
From death eternally.
(Christian Science Hymnal, No. 135)

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