God's Smile
There's much good all around - if we open up our eyes to it. We can find the nature of God, good itself, expressed in a smile, in the smallest acts of kindness. The expression of innocence and purity speaks volumes.
Like the warmth of a fire, God's love can be discerned and felt, even though it's not physical but spiritual. It is comprehended through spiritual sense. Kindly acts and a joyous smile reflect a radiance that blesses and heals. Expressions of God's love are inevitably attractive.
On occasions when words are inadequate or perhaps inappropriate, the touch of a hand or a loving look may do the job. Divine love, God, does not need words; its power goes beyond human means of communication, beyond physicality, and speaks to the heart. And a genuine, loving heart communicates its own message.
Even in the harshest climes, the light of the sun, when magnified, can melt ice. So it is that the love of God shines in the most obdurate of human circumstances and dissolves the icebergs of stubborn resistance.
An article called "Love," written by Mary Baker Eddy, says: "As a human quality, the glorious significance of affection is more than words: it is the tender, unselfish deed done in secret; the silent, ceaseless prayer; the self-forgetful heart that overflows; the veiled form stealing on an errand of mercy, out of a side door; the little feet tripping along the sidewalk; the gentle hand opening the door that turns toward want and woe, sickness and sorrow, and thus lighting the dark places of earth" ("Miscellaneous Writings," Pg. 250). These examples all concern the presence of God's love in our lives.
Jesus Christ told the world all about love. Everything he said and did expressed the affluence of his spiritual nature. He did not hide the compassion he felt for the downtrodden and the overlooked. His magnificent nature was exemplified in acts of meekness and thoughtfulness. People were drawn to him and were healed by the love his thoughts and deeds expressed. All Jesus' teachings point to the importance of care. His hand was stretched out to all. He cared about the adulterer, the leper, the insane, the child, the Roman centurion, the thief on the cross, and even those who cried out for his own crucifixion.
Those are examples of care that went beyond mere human compassion. It was his expression of divine Love, of our Father and Mother, of our God. And Jesus showed that the real identity of everyone, not just of himself, is the expression of God.
A poem by Whittier says, "To worship rightly is to love each other;/ Each smile a hymn, each kindly deed a prayer" ("Christian Science Hymnal," No. 217). It is not really difficult to smile and be kind when the power of these actions is clear to us. And these simple acts make a tremendous impact for good in our lives and in the lives of others! Their power heals.
How natural and right it is to express God's nature. Each child of God has a flawless spiritual identity. Like the sun shining through the mist, your inherent nature is spiritual, of God, and is most clearly seen when your thoughts are unselfish. Sometimes this can come out in such an innocent, childlike way. Gratitude and tenderness, for instance, bring out and magnify the best in humanity, forming a link with the Divine.
This was Jacob's experience when he was reconciled to his brother Esau after a long estrangement (see Gen., Chap. 33). A bitter feud with Esau had forced Jacob into exile. His brother had sworn to kill him. But Jacob, having gained a new vision of God's love, could stay away no longer. He went to meet his brother, intending to shower him with gifts. But Esau was most interested in reconciliation.
Jacob's words to his brother were, "I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me." There was nothing special about Esau's face, except that he was glad to see his brother. But Jacob's uplifted, spiritual sense now saw more of the nature of man as God's own image and likeness (see Gen. 1:26). This insight had enlightened Jacob; to him, it was like seeing the face, the expression, of God everywhere.
