In the Christian Science Bible Lesson June 18, 2012 Issue

The way to permanent peace

For the lesson titled "God" from June 25 - July 1, 2012

Steve Warren—Austin, Texas

The Golden Text from Job in this week’s Lesson, titled “God,” asserts that as we get to know God, we experience peace. A wonderful promise, but how do we know God?

In the Responsive Reading, the Apostle Paul announces to the men of Athens, “The One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you” (Acts 17:23, New King James Version). He goes on to teach these Greeks what he knows about God—that God made all, that God doesn’t dwell in a building (temple), that God doesn’t need anything from men; indeed, it is men who get life from Him.

Through these declarations about the nature of God, Paul urges the Athenians to give up their sense of Deity as unknowable, and embrace God as All-in-all. Paul was in faraway Greece where men knew little of Christianity, and yet Paul shares his understanding that God’s allness includes even the Greeks. To this end he quotes a Greek poet, “ ‘For we are also His offspring’ ” (Acts 17:28). The Lesson this week shows how this idea—that we are all God’s family—can lead to peace within ourselves, our communities, our families, and even between nations. 