Magnifying God’s goodness

William Shakespeare wrote,

This our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.

And poet Piet Hein echoed him when he wrote,

He on whom
God’s light
does fall
sees
the great things
in the small.

I love these quotes. They point to the fact that as we take note of God’s hand at work, even in the minutiae of daily life, we are actually witnessing and magnifying God’s goodness.

The Bible says, “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together” (Psalms 34:3). I’ve found that this directive becomes a catalyst for the recognition of greater good in our lives as well as in the world. To me, magnifying God means that as one approaches God in thought, Deity becomes larger – more real, relevant, and present to us – in our lives. God is already ever-present Love, and magnifying Him enables us to be more aware of the divine goodness that exists right here, right now, and always. Because God, good, is ever present, and always aware of His own goodness, all of us, as the image or expression of God, have a spiritual awareness that naturally notices the divine presence.

This spiritual sense, which Mary Baker Eddy defines as “a conscious, constant capacity to understand God” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 209), is innate in all God’s children. This is what allows us to magnify Him. Where limited, mortal, material sense sees the irrelevant and mundane, spiritual sense sees the inspired and meaningful. So, the tender hand reaching out to a child, the friendly wave, the unselfish gesture, all magnify God’s presence.

Our ability to magnify God depends on which lens we are looking through, the human or the divine. Science and Health says, “We must look deep into realism instead of accepting only the outward sense of things” (p. 129). In doing this, I’ve found that even the most ordinary experiences become examples of God’s presence.

For instance, I had a favorite lamp that badly needed a new shade, but an exhaustive search for a replacement was unproductive. So I patched up the old one and moved on.

Months later, while out walking one morning, I was acutely aware of all the lovely evidences of God’s presence. In my prayers, I had been especially attentive to magnifying God’s goodness and each expression of this goodness in the world, rather than allowing myself to get caught up in the fear and sadness that seemed rampant in news reports. My “sermons in stones” that morning were seen in the dappled sunlight, the warm breeze – and suddenly in a lampshade! There it was in a neighbor’s front yard with a “FREE” sign on it. It was brand-new, with the wrapping still on it, and it was a perfect fit. A small example, but my desire to magnify God had opened my eyes to the meeting of a need.

While grateful for this find, I took a much deeper message away from it. Prayer isn’t about obtaining stuff or fixing problems; it’s about feeling God’s presence and loving care, which we all have the opportunity to do as His children.

Christ Jesus spoke of this care as pertaining to even the smallest details in our life when he said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6, 7).

The working out of the minute details of our lives may seem inconsequential, and yet each is evidence of the Father’s consistent care for His creation. If a need so insignificant as a lampshade is met, we can be grateful to know how much more the bigger things like supply, safety, and health are being met, too, as we continue to magnify God’s goodness.

Let’s joyously commit to utilizing our God-given spiritual sense to magnify God in all His ways, great or small. In this way, we will find Love’s healing goodness and the blessings it brings – to us and to a waiting world.