The Perfect Will of God ELLA W. HOAG, CSD          One of the deepest needs of the human heart, though perhaps somewhat undefined, has always been to find a God whose will could be relied upon as perfect, expressing yesterday, today, and forever the all-inclusiveness of active good. Jesus' entire life-work proved that the will of God, understood and obeyed, would bring the acme of all that is blissful and desirable to those obeying it. The ordinary theological teaching has, however unwittingly, inculcated the belief that God's will would deprive mankind of much that is pleasant and desirable. Thus, it came to be regarded as something to be avoided rather than sought, and rarely could one be found who could honestly say he wanted to know and obey it.          On the contrary, Christian Science, following in the line of Jesus' teaching and living, is awakening men to know that God's will is, even as Paul declared it to be, "good, and acceptable, and perfect." This starts one out from a new standpoint, and as he begins to contemplate the fact that from a God who is infinite, divine, perfect Love there can go forth no purpose or effect but that which is loving and holy, beautiful and wise, joy-giving and joy-fulfilling, he begins to be willing to taste this truth, by living in some degree of obedience to it. Beginning to obey God, good, he begins to receive; and so there commences to dawn upon him the fact that God's will alone is good and that the claims to another will, or an opposite, must be falsities and their so-called pleasures transient and unsatisfying. Who would cling to a sham and a lie which offers at most but shadows and fleeting phantasms, when he could lay hold of eternal wisdom, intelligence, and glory? It seems almost absurd to imagine that any one would intentionally continue in the stupid, lethargic dream of satisfaction in an ignorant, sinful will, when the sublime will of the Almighty God can be had for the seeking.          For over fifty years Christian Science has been at work proclaiming the perfect will of God and the entire desirability of living in obedience to it. It has been showing that all is to be gained and nothing lost if one will turn to this glorious will of God with all his heart; and, obeying, press forward to triumph over all that is unreal, tormenting, and deceiving. In order to do this, every Christian Scientist must rise to his individual demonstration of unity with the will of God, and thus gain an all-embracing trust in the power of that perfect will to govern everyone, everywhere, at all times. This also implies the necessity of recognizing the claims of a supposititious will apart from God, and of winning the victory over all such claims through the relinquishment of belief in their reality, satisfaction, or power. In "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 201) Mrs. Eddy writes of the human will thus: "The Science of Paul's declaration resolves the element misnamed matter into its original sin, or human will; that will which would oppose bringing the qualities of Spirit into subjection to Spirit."          Christian Science found the world without an intelligent understanding of a distinction between the divine will and the human belief of will. The tremendous and heart-satisfying truth that God's will always has been, and is now, and must forever continue to be the one and only power governing His own universe, including man, had been deemed impossible of realization, except in some future far-off heaven. When Christian Science brought to light this insistent and joyous demand of God's all-inclusive will, the claim of wills many, or the belief of mind in matter, was uncovered as never before in human history, in order that its utter falsity and powerlessness might be proved. Because of this uncovering, the world is beginning to cry out for freedom — for freedom from the evil results of its beliefs in a will apart from God. Outside of Christian Science men believe such freedom is won only as each has what he personally desires. In other words, mortals believe they can be made free through possession of the right to govern themselves, each with his own human will. They can imagine liberty only to be that which can do as it pleases. Immediately from such conclusion there must result an inevitable clash of wills many.          Christian Science reverses this futile sense, which always ends in disaster. It shows that the will of God is His law and everything is controlled or governed by this perfect will or law. From this premise the only possible conclusion must be that the great necessity of humanity is to gain an understanding of this will, and, obeying it, bring into evidence the good results which must follow from such obedience. To understand, acknowledge, and obey this one perfect will, to live in perfect conformity thereto, is the demand of God which will finally be brought into absolute fulfillment. Christian Science proclaims this process as simple; and the study of its teachings will surely unfold to the earnest heart this way of good.          The question is frequently asked: How can I know what God's will is? To this Christian Science gives the perfect answer. Accept, first, the truth that God's perfect, all-desirable will is always present and always active; contemplate this truth, appreciate it, love it, and allow it to govern. Then it inevitably uncovers the claims of human will or personal desire which would oppose the will of God in the specific problem under consideration. When this opposing will or desire is laid down, it becomes possible to discern the will of God. Listen to the words of our beloved Leader (Poems, p. 79): —                   The centuries break, the earth-bound wake,                            God's glorified!                   Who doth His will — His likeness still —                            Is satisfied.   "The Perfect Will of God" by Ella W. Hoag, CSD Christian Science Sentinel, March 25, 1922

 

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