God's Good Will

Duncan Sinclair

In a world where suffering sometimes appears to be much in evidence the questions are often asked, Can it be God's will that men should have to endure the pangs of disease or the ravages of sin? Is there not something far wrong in a state of existence where men seem to have to submit to conditions which they themselves would be incapable of imposing on one another? It cannot be denied that suffering, sorrow, and sin are far from desirable; and it certainly is not God's will that men should be subject to them. It is all wrong to lay the blame of the world's distress on the Supreme Being; for as the Old Testament, apostrophizing Deity, has it, "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity."

Christian Science throws a great light on the question of the will of God and on the problem of human misery. In this Science God is acknowledged to be infinite good; and from this premise the conclusion is correctly drawn that good alone is real. This is the same as saying that there are not two real powers in existence, good and evil, but only one real power, good. Evil, thus, has neither reality nor power. As this is acknowledged, it is seen that the will of God must be good, altogether good, and that evil, so called, never enters in any degree into the divine purpose. In other words, God's law is that His will, His good will, shall be perpetually done; and since God is omnipresent, His perfect will must be active everywhere.

Again, Christian Science teaches that God is Mind. And since Mind expresses itself in ideas, man must be God's idea. Hence, as God's idea, man is always at-one with God. From this it follows that the real man lives in constant obedience to the will of God; or, to put it somewhat differently, the will of God is continually being made manifest through man. Think what this means. It signifies that the real spiritual self of each of us is always under the good will of God, subject to perfect intelligence, perfect wisdom; never for a moment separate from divine Love; never for an instant apart from infinite Life. The fact that man lives under the ever active will of God means that health, happiness,—every good thing,—are assured him, even eternal life itself.

Since man is always under the direction of God's good and perfect will, can anything other than good come to him; can so-called evil ever befall him? No! Then what has to be said of human suffering? That it is an error or illusion of material sense. Christian Science places the issue squarely before mankind, stating the truth about God and man, revealing God's will to His creation, thus laying bare the fallacy of believing in a power other than good. Christian Science is pleading God's allness, and with persistence is seeking to wean humanity from its suffering and sin through the understanding of the utter unreality of evil. Mrs. Eddy writes on page 202 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," "The scientific unity which exists between God and man must be wrought out in life-practice, and God's will must be universally done."

No one who has lived on earth was so obedient to the will of God as Christ Jesus; and his obedience was apparent in many ways. Witness the goodness of his life, its purity and compassion. Witness his love for humanity, shown in the healing of all manner of disease and sin. The Master did not act contrary to but in obedience to God's law, the law of Mind, thereby demonstrating that in reality there is no material law. And he prayed, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Our Leader writes (Science and Health, p. 168): "He [Jesus] did the will of the Father. He healed sickness in defiance of what is called material law, but in accordance with God's law, the law of Mind."

We must progress towards complete obedience to the will of God. To do so we must know His will better, be more fully assured of its goodness, have greater faith in it. But should this be difficult when we understand God to be infinite good, infinite Love? Mrs. Eddy says compassionately on page 347 of "Miscellaneous Writings": "Those who know no will but His take His hand, and from the night He leads to light. None can say unto Him, What doest Thou?" Obedience to God's good will insures ultimate triumph over every erroneous evil belief. What hope Christian Science inspires in all who understand its sacred message!

Duncan Sinclair

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From the Directors

February 27, 1932

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