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Are we helpless in the face of extreme weather?
A lot has been said and written in recent years about the science of climate change and the causes of extreme weather. Much of the discussion reflects a difference of opinion on the cause of extreme temperatures and destructive weather events. Yet one thing is certain: The scale and severity of these events can make us feel helpless to do anything about them.
Yet, we are not helpless. Christ Jesus, the individual whom Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, called “the most scientific man that ever trod the globe,” showed us how we can not only be protected from extreme conditions but ultimately mitigate and even prevent them through an understanding of God’s all-power and our God-given dominion over the earth. She explains Jesus’ Christianly scientific approach to discord of every kind: “He plunged beneath the material surface of things, and found the spiritual cause” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 313). In other words, he didn’t look for or to material causes but instead turned to God, divine Love, recognizing Love as the only cause and effect, the only power in the universe. And he knew that this one and only cause is without a destructive element.
A powerful illustration of this is recorded in the Gospel of Mark in the Bible. We are told that Jesus and his disciples were at sea when a violent storm arose, threatening to sink their ship. His disciples felt helpless and feared for their lives. Yet Jesus must have trusted that God would deliver them, because he was clearly unafraid; he was certain of God’s loving care and power and absolute control over His entire creation. This understanding gave him dominion over the human experience and endowed him with the ability to rebuke the wind and command the waves. He said, “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39) and calmed not only the fearful mental atmosphere in that boat but also the turbulent weather.
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