With amazement and wonder the world looked on, through television, as men in rocket-impelled space vehicles landed with exact precision on the moon. Later they returned from the moon to a precisely designated place on earth. Moving vehicles meeting moving targets! Men's comprehension of the exactness of the laws of science and mathematics made all this possible, and world thought has been stirred to its very depths by the magnificent precision underlying these events.

Men can marvel still more, though, at the precision of the divine Principle that upholds the universe. In Science and Health, the textbook of Christian Science, Mrs. Eddy gives Principle as one of the names for God. Divine Principle upholds and guides every action of the real and eternal man, created by God, Spirit, whom Christ Jesus called "your Father, which is in heaven." ^{Matt. 23:9;}

A materially-minded individual, the mortal man we seem to be, tends to believe that his father is another mortal and that his affairs are subject to chance, good luck or bad; and therefore he seems to be under the control of false belief in sin, sickness, and death. Not claiming man's true divine sonship, he finds it difficult to demonstrate the precision of Principle. In contrast, spiritual man, the only man we really are, reflects the perfect law of God. Claiming our divine sonship, we can know that we are forever at one with divine Principle and governed by the law of good, the law of perfect precision.

I once took a course for boat owners in which the instructor said to the class over and over again, "Trust your compass. Have faith in it." I remember a very foggy morning on Long Island Sound when my husband and I were crossing the Sound in our boat. A compass course had been plotted and was followed exactly, and although the visibility was very poor, the boat arrived in port exactly as planned. The compass did not fail, although to human sight the course was not visible.

Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health: "We tread on forces. Withdraw them, and creation must collapse. Human knowledge calls them forces of matter; but divine Science declares that they belong wholly to divine Mind, are inherent in this Mind, and so restores them to their rightful home and classification." ^{Science and Health, p. 124;}

How can the precision of Principle be demonstrated in daily life? At times the way seems dim and the fog of false beliefs appears to obscure the path. But in the midst of this obscurity, the precision of Principle prevails. Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health, "Undisturbed amid the jarring testimony of the material senses, Science, still enthroned, is unfolding to mortals the immutable, harmonious, divine Principle,—is unfolding Life and the universe, ever present and eternal." ^{ibid., p. 306;}

Faith in God is of utmost importance in demonstrating our understanding of the precision of Principle. Faith in God is even more essential for us than faith in his compass is for the mariner and navigator. The mariner is obedient to the course his compass indicates, and we can be obedient to the still small voice of Truth; for man reflects Truth. Daily study of the Lesson-Sermon in the Christian Science Quarterly fills consciousness with truth and affirms man's forever sonship with God. Through it one becomes aware of the exactitude of Principle.

I learned still another lesson from the boat owners' course— never to place steel objects near a compass. These act as magnets and destroy its accuracy, deflecting the compass needle from its true indication. Of course, nothing can deflect the exactitude of divine Principle, but if we entertain thoughts of sin, sickness, and death in consciousness, these are liable to deflect our understanding from the truth that man is spiritual and immortal. But if we steadfastly purify our consciousness and follow God's laws, we will be kept on course and will know no deflection from the perfect operation of Principle in our affairs.

How can false belief in a power apart from God be handled? The Apostle Paul speaks of "casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." ^{II Cor. 10:5;} It is important to examine everything that comes to consciousness.

Ask yourself, Is this spiritual truth, proceeding from divine Principle, or is it false material belief? Are my motives and actions in accord with Principle, which blesses everyone concerned? As we constantly examine thought to ensure that only God's law of good prevails in our consciousness and actions, this brings the precision of divine Principle into every aspect of daily life.

Christ Jesus, in true humility, constantly claimed his divine sonship. He said, "The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." ^{John 5:19;} Like him, our Way-shower, we can prove the precision of divine Principle in our every activity as we too claim our sonship with God.

Jesus met the human needs that confronted him with spiritual understanding of the omnipresence, omnipotence, and immediacy of the action and precision of God's law. And an Old Testament prophet declared God's word: "It shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." ^{Isa. 65:24;} The precision of Principle is equal to the solving of every problem, and no time lag can delay the solution.

One of the times when the precision of Principle was practically demonstrated in our family's experience was when it suddenly became necessary for us to move within one month to another location over a thousand miles away. Affirming the truth that divine Principle governs all in perfect precision, and following obediently the guidance of Mind, we had several telephone conferences involving a real estate agent, a buyer, and ourselves. Within a week our house was sold to a family who needed it badly, and within the next week we purchased one in the new location from an individual who needed to sell it. The precision of Principle met the needs of all concerned.

Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health, "In the scientific relation of God to man, we find that whatever blesses one blesses all, as Jesus showed with the loaves and the fishes,—Spirit, not matter, being the source of supply." ^{Science and Health, p. 206.}

In this age it is our privilege to know and prove that despite mortal arguments of lack and frustration the precision of divine Principle is adequate to meet our every need.