Divine Presence

Albert F. Gilmore

Christ Jesus' realization of God's presence is without parallel. He dwelt so consciously in the certainty that God was at hand, and available to destroy evil in every form, that in whatever enterprise engaged he was enabled instantly to invoke the divine power. Jesus constantly moved in a certain sense of the divine presence. His consciousness was spiritual truth; he realized—that is, made real—the presence of Truth. He thought spiritually, recognizing God as infinite Spirit and man as God's reflection. This constant consciousness of ever present good accounts for his transcendent demonstration of divine power.

If we are to follow the Nazarene as our Way-shower, is it not incumbent upon us to emulate his example in all his ways? This necessitates conformity to his mental habits in the fullest degree of which we are capable. And let us not forget that our capacity to "do likewise" increases through diligent application to the processes of spiritual unfoldment.

Consciousness of the divine presence insures peace and harmony in our thinking. Realization of the all-presence of good excludes belief in evil. Realization is the process. And does not this realization mean to us what it meant to Christ Jesus, to make real to one's self the divine presence? Thus we become assured that God is; we abide in the deep sense of His nearness, of His love, of His protecting care. In Christian Science we have learned how to make this realization of practical use in our lives. We find that as we dwell in the sense of God's presence we adjust our thoughts to divine Principle: we think scientifically, after the manner of Jesus; that is, we hold only to Truth—to the good, to what is permanent and true alone—as real, excluding every belief that does not conform to the divine standard.

The process is that of spiritualization of consciousness: it is transformation within. The divine presence is to be sought in no other place than in consciousness. Angels of the divine presence are ever at hand, are ever present, to be brought into realization as thought opens to receive them. The words of Christ Jesus have a direct application to our need: "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Mortals are inclined to believe that God is not "a God at hand," but "a God afar off" in both time and space—that we are apart from Him. This erroneous belief tends to keep mortals from seeking the divine presence. They hold that only by some new and strange experience can they be ushered into His presence.

Christian Science aids mortals in overcoming obstructive beliefs; and it proves the soundness of its teachings by demonstrating the power of the divine presence to nullify the claims of error. Man is never apart from God, is never out of His presence. Our great need is to establish this fact through proving man's relation to Him. God is our Father in a very real sense, since He made all that was made. Recognition of sonship with Him discloses something of the immeasurable, unceasing divine blessing which belongs to man. But acknowledgment of our relationship with God brings the obligation to act in accordance with that understanding.

If we ask ourselves, "Am I living up to my prerogatives and privileges as the son of God?" what will the answer be? It is safe to say that none is making a complete demonstration of that sonship. But if we are striving toward that goal, prayerfully seeking to realize the divine presence and what it means to be the son of God, we are meeting our obligation in that direction; and our blessings will be measured by our fidelity, our humility, and our willingness to leave all for Christ's sake.

Mrs. Eddy writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 519), "Mortals can never know the infinite, until they throw off the old man and reach the spiritual image and likeness." Mortals never gain the divine presence until they cease to think of man as mortal. The false concept of man, which holds him to be material, must be laid off for the true concept, which reveals man's true status as the child of God. Then, and then only, will mortality—every belief in materiality—give place to the truth of man in God's likeness.

Paul foresaw this divine state of consciousness as something to which mortals would finally attain, and voiced it thus: "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." The fullness of Christ was the stature to which the apostle strove to awaken the Christians of Ephesus. Attainment to the same high standard is no less imperative now. And that exalted state is reached only as we realize that man forever abides in the divine presence, and thus become conscious of present perfection.

Albert F. Gilmore

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The Enthronement of Mind

March 17, 1928

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