Article

Home Listen to this article Return to Articles previous / next article

God's Laws in Operation

You and I are defined, molded, enlivened, and cherished by divine Love; we are the beneficiaries of Mind and the enactment of God's laws. As we become aware of these laws, one by one, the glorious capabilities of man begin to become apparent. It is only our ignorance of Mind's infinite providence that limits our demonstration. Ignorance is not a law. If a bird were unaware of its wings, it would not fly, even though there is no law forbidding it. In a similar way, mankind is restricted by his ignorance of the laws that govern spiritual man. Because Jesus comprehended these laws, he could say to the man with the withered limb, "Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other" (Mark 3:5).

God's laws are always in effect but are not immediately evident to us when we relish the evidence of the physical senses. As we begin to unravel the mysteries of our true identity, however, we become convinced of an operative Principle beyond what the eyes behold. The testimonies and writings of our spiritual forbearers offer encouragement. "The dream that matter and error are something must yield to reason and revelation" (SH 347:26). Even though we may cling to our sensuous dream world, tilling the soil of material hopes, sooner or later we tire of it. The mission of the still small voice within is not to improve the dream, but to wake us from it. "Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual, - neither in nor of matter, - and the body will then utter no complaints" because the law of Christ supersedes complaint (SH 14:12).

During a famine, Elijah was so impoverished that he could not even feed himself. God said to him, "Arise [lift up your thinking], get thee to Zarephath, . . . I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee" (1 Kings 17:9). According to Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary, Zarephath means "ambush of the mouth." It also means "smelting shop," a workshop for the refining of metals. Christ was about to refine Elijah's thought concerning the true source of nourishment. When Elijah arrived in town, he discovered that the woman had only enough food for one meal; she assumed that she and her son were about to die of starvation. At first, we might be shocked or disgusted with God's direction - was this destitute woman really supposed to sustain him? No! God had provided Elijah with a workshop opportunity. Is it not more than interesting that when Elijah was too poor to provide for himself, God gave him a family to feed? This desperate situation immediately turned Elijah's thought away from his mouth and back to God. His ready response to God's direction allowed the woman to see sufficient oil and grain in her larder to meet their needs until the mental drought that had blocked their sense of supply was abandoned. Divine Love was found meeting their human need to be awakened.

Jesus' reason and revelation nourished the five thousand with spiritual food for three days. After their soul searching was satisfied, however, they became hungry. Could Jesus satisfy himself with the five loaves and two fishes that he had on hand, or was he required by law to provide for his disciples and the multitude? Since loving his neighbor as himself mirrors the character and nature of God's love, he knew he must feed them all equally from the same spiritual source that had inspired them to listen to his words. Because Jesus knew the law that governs spiritual sustenance, he could say "I have meat to eat that ye know not of" and demonstrate it with loaves and fishes - a form of provision that the people could understand (John 4:32).

Mary Baker Eddy fed all those who hungered and thirsted after righteousness before she was satisfied with having done what she could. "All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children" (Isa 54:13). For most of her selfless career, Mrs. Eddy was hidden from the visible world yet known to God who had promised her, "My kindness shall not depart from thee" (Isa 54:10). Mrs. Eddy stood with Christ in full recognition and demonstration of Divine Science and was fitted with a crown of glory - dominion over all the so-called laws of this world and royal authority to lead humanity to the Comforter.

As I pondered the demonstrations of these spiritual pioneers, I had a vision that illustrated God's law of supply. Two images of me appeared - one poor and one rich. The poor me was so destitute that my parents, who had very little, determined that they must feed me. As my rich self, I stood in a beautifully appointed room directing my secretary to write a check to my parents for a thousand dollars so that they could nourish the impoverished me. This check writing repeated itself continuously, as I requested it. To me, the vision illustrated how Love's law of generosity naturally sustains its own idea.

All the power of the universe is at our fingertips, for we are Mind's opportunity. Ignorance, weakness, stupidity, lack, egotism, vengeance, self-love, and sensual desire - whatever is impure - blocks our comprehension of infinite intelligence. We cannot harbor dark limiting thoughts and behold the brilliance of divine Mind at the same time. Since the quality and character of the things we see outwardly are reflective of our inward thoughts, we must expunge the evils first to make way for objects of grace.

Jesus never trusted mortal beliefs. For him, the material universe was a hypnotic state from which he needed to awake. Since Jesus' neighbors - his disciples, his mother, his enemies, the rich, the poor, and the sick - were there in this dream with him, he could not just desert them, for that would not be Love. He had to see everyone, even future generations, in their scientifically awakened state before he could witness his own ascension. After mastering his perception of sin in others, he announced, "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). In other words, 'I am so wakened from this hypnotic dream that, by extension, all humanity will see the way to wake up too.' "The only logical conclusion is that all is Mind and its manifestation, from the rolling of worlds, in the most subtle ether, to a potato-patch" (Mis 26:5).

As God writes the laws and controls the universe, so we take charge of God's thoughts about us, speak with divine authority, and move the mountains that need moving. Fear not. Control is God's law of authority operating within you.

George Denninger ©

Home Listen to this article Return to Articles previous / next article