From the Editors January 14, 2013 Issue

God's law of completion

The Editors

Many of us probably know the feeling. We begin a worthwhile activity with excellent motives and the highest hopes—but then it stalls, stops, or maybe even reverses, and completion seems beyond our reach.

It’s like the tale in classical mythology about Tantalus, the man condemned by the gods to perpetual hunger and thirst. Although he was placed in the middle of a lake where the water was up to his chin, and although beautiful fruit hung right before his eyes, the water and fruit always drew back when he reached for them. The name Tantalus is the origin of the English verb “to tantalize.” To be tantalized, or teased, means that something especially desirable is often just out of one’s reach.

In the study and practice of Christian Science, there may be times when it seems our prayers have gone unfinished or unanswered—that solutions are beyond our reach. Think, perhaps, of a physical healing that’s not completed; a damaged relationship unresolved; a financial need not properly met.

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