Is everything under control?

Are the laws that govern the universe malevolent or benevolent – or neither? Do we live at the mercy of indifferent laws of matter, ruling the universe with unfeeling omnipotence? If there is a higher power called God, which the Bible proclaims as Love, why does the world seem increasingly shaken by destructive forces?

These are fair questions, and the answers to them are urging themselves on humankind. Enter the revolutionary ideas in the Bible Lesson from the “Christian Science Quarterly” titled “Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?” (for June 16-22).

The beginning of the Lesson includes the story of Jesus stilling a life-threatening storm on the Sea of Galilee. When his disciples woke him in great fear, Jesus got up, “rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39).

Was Jesus calling on God to intervene against the physical laws that created the storm? No, Christian Science brings out that he was bringing to bear on the situation the spiritual laws that are actually in control all the time, if only we knew it. Certainly he was familiar with the psalm that assures us, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled. ... Be still, and know that I am God: ... I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalms 46:1-3, 10).

Interestingly, after Jesus stilled the storm, he was met on the opposite shore by a man whose insanity drove him to violence. And Jesus healed him, exercising the same authority over the “unclean spirit” as he had over the raging of the sea (see Mark 5:1-15).

In the Christian Science textbook, Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, explains, “What are termed natural science and material laws are the objective states of mortal mind. The physical universe expresses the conscious and unconscious thoughts of mortals. Physical force and mortal mind are one” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 484).

In the Lesson, many passages from the Bible and Science and Health bring out how mortal mind – the supposed opposite of the divine Mind, or Truth – is all there really is to the raging and destruction pictured by the material senses, and how the entire universe, including man, is actually under the harmonious, loving control of the divine Mind, or divine Principle. This is because the universe is created by Mind, evolved from Spirit, and so is entirely spiritual. Science and Health declares, “Mind’s control over the universe, including man, is no longer an open question, but is demonstrable Science” (p. 171).

I saw this proven some years ago when the city where my branch Church of Christ, Scientist, stood was threatened by flooding. Heavy rains combined with melting snow and ice had brought the river that ran through town within inches of its banks. Water levels were predicted to continue rising.

The members of our church responded by vigorously affirming in our thoughts, even as sandbags were brought in and laid, that the laws that governed the universe were spiritual, not material, and that everything, including this river, was under the absolute, harmonious control of the Mind that is God. I am sure that people of other faiths were praying as well, and contrary to common expectations, the river stopped rising within an inch of overflowing its banks.

This truth, that “immortal Mind, governing all, must be acknowledged as supreme in the physical realm, so-called, as well as in the spiritual” (Science and Health, p. 427), applies to every phase of our experience – political, economic, environmental, and personal. As we read in the Lesson, understanding and acknowledging God’s supreme control can bring physical healing as well, and the Christian Science periodicals are replete with examples of this.

In my own case, I was healed of internal pain when one day I felt so deeply that everything in the universe is actually 100% spiritual and under the absolute control of the divine Principle, Love. Prayerful treatment from a Christian Science practitioner brought about the good result.

We find in the Lesson how such healing through reliance on God is repeatable. How grateful we can be that there is a divine Science that we can study and learn how to practice as Jesus did.