Editorial February 20, 2017 Issue

The view beyond division

Tony Lobl

When one is delving into the Bible, it’s inspiring to read of the healings and wisdom that attended the spiritual lives of those it highlights. But something else stands out about those living such spiritual lives—how gracious they could remain under trying circumstances.

Take King David, for instance. When I first read the story of this shepherd boy’s rise to become ruler of Israel and Judah, I was moved by how he responded under duress. He refused to take the life of King Saul, who was pursuing him to kill him (see I Samuel 24:1–7); backed out of a plan to take revenge on a man whose actions had enraged him (see I Samuel 25:1–35); and bestowed on the defeated Saul’s grandson the honor of eating daily at the king’s table (see II Samuel 9:1–13).

This wasn’t just good manners. These were instances of the spiritual largess that loves despite antagonism. Centuries before Christ Jesus’ crucifixion, David must have gleaned something of what the Savior would so vividly prove by forgiving those crucifying him—that our enemy is never really a person or a group of people. Why not? Because there is one infinite God, Spirit, and as God’s children or spiritual ideas, we forever truly reflect the divine oneness. So our real foe is a mistaken, material conception of ourselves and our creator—the mortal viewpoint that believes we can be divided from our divine source and consequently from each other.

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Bible Lens—February 20–26, 2017