Changeless Law of Love

PROBABLY the one thing that is constantly happening in human life is change. Our personal lives and relationships change; we switch jobs; we finish school. On the national and international scene there are also changes. Under such a flood of change, it can sometimes seem as though we don't have a secure basis on which to plan our lives. At times like this, I find it comforting to think of the promise Christ Jesus gave his disciples just before he left them. He said, ``Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.''

He was assuring them that even though he might leave them physically, the spiritual truth that he had taught and lived would be an ever-present, healing influence in their lives. Even though change might come -- and it did -- the stability they had gained from his teachings was a dependable comfort and help.

Through Jesus' teachings we ourselves can experience the healing and protecting power of Christ, Truth. This spiritual idea of Truth is a special help in times of change, because it speaks to us of God's unchanging love. It also enables us to adapt more readily to progressive changes in our lives.

This happens because we begin to understand God to be divine Principle, the source of all law. In fact, when we are willing to trust His government, His law, we get a more accurate perspective on the events around us. As Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, explains in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, ``The divine Principle of the universe must interpret the universe.''

This understanding of the universe is one that many people in the Bible relied on. But it was best expressed in Christ Jesus' life. No matter what he faced, Jesus proved that the spiritual interpretation of any situation was life-giving and saving. He understood that man is in fact spiritual and inseparable from God. Moreover, this wasn't just a pleasant theoretical point. It actually led to healing. And he told his followers that their prayers would also heal.

Then, when we are faced with a change or a challenge, we can also turn to prayer. As we understand God to be both Love and Principle, we find evidence of God's law working in our lives. This law of Love isn't something that comes and goes. It doesn't favor one over another. Instead, it is accessible to each of us, no matter what challenge we face.

This law operates constantly, but sometimes we don't see it because we are thinking of ourselves in purely material terms. We may feel we are unintelligent or unlovable or unwanted. Our hearts may be fearful of the future or tormented by the past. Such conditions tend to blind us to the true spiritual nature God has given us. This is where Christ comes to our rescue. Through Christ, we perceive the inseparability of God and man, and specifically our unbreakable unity with the Divine. Realizing our onene ss with God regenerates us. It frees us from fear of the future or any tendency to cling to the past. Distrust, envy, and anger give way before the love of God.

As we feel God's unchanging love, even if only faintly, we begin to see that this love not only will protect us from loss in times of change. It will also make the very change we may have feared into an opportunity for gain. Our growing sense of our own spirituality will prove to us that infinite Love simply must be rich with reward. Through prayer that affirms our spirituality, we increasingly perceive God's guidance in our lives, and in this way we find the stability that we need.