Article February 18, 2019 Issue

See beyond division to the kingdom of heaven

Lynne Buckley-Quirk

These days, I find myself praying constantly for harmony and peace on earth. My ongoing prayer is to realize more fully that God is good and that God’s law of harmony and peace is ever present, governing all mankind. Some may consider such prayer futile and impractical, given the deep divisions and disunity that appear to be so prevalent among people and nations. We seem to hear much more about distrust and discord and the ensuing conflicts than the presence of harmony like that which Christ Jesus promised when he said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).

Trusting that Jesus’ teachings were not for his age only but for all time, I turn to the Bible and to Christian Science, the Science of the Christ, to guide me in my prayer for the world. In considering Jesus’ statement about the kingdom of heaven, I find Mary Baker Eddy’s description of heaven in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures helpful. She describes it, in part, as “harmony; the reign of Spirit; government by divine Principle” (p. 587).

As comforting as this spiritual definition has been for me, I’ve found myself conflicted by the question, “How can we realize the presence of peace and harmony—the kingdom of heaven, or government by divine Principle, God—when the effects of division and disunity, particularly in politics, seem so real and aggressive?” I realized the question was consuming my thought to such a degree that I was finding it difficult to trust the truth of that “government by divine Principle,” where God governs His creation harmoniously.

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