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Understanding the control which Love held over all,
Daniel felt safe in the lions' den, and Paul proved the
viper to be harmless. All of God's creatures,
moving in the harmony of Science, are harm‐
less, useful, indestructible. A realization of this grand
verity was a source of strength to the ancient worthies.
It supports Christian healing, and enables its possessor
to emulate the example of Jesus. "And God saw that
it was good” (pp. 514-515).
Initially, the part
of the passage I used most, was the sentence stating that “All of God’s
creatures, moving in the harmony of Science, are harmless, useful,
indestructible.” From this I establish
what I have a right to see: animals
interacting harmoniously, not hurting themselves or others, never being capable
of being destroyed. This is the
spiritual reality, so I can claim it, and see it in my experience.
Lately, though, I’ve
realized that even though this passage is explaining the spiritual significance
of God’s creation of animals, Mary Baker Eddy is actually pointing to an even
larger truth in that sentence I love so much. She says not just animals, but all
God’s creatures are harmless, useful, indestructible. Certainly we are God’s creatures, so this
includes us—all people. It means all of us are harmless, useful, and indestructible. Rereading the paragraph, I realized
this was something Daniel knew—or discovered—about Darius when he was
in the lions’ den. Otherwise, how could
his greeting to him after a night in the lions’ den have been, “O king, live
for ever”? (See the sixth chapter of Daniel.)
I also like to use
this passage:
"Mind, joyous in strength, dwells in the
realm of Mind. Mind's infinite ideas run and dis‐
port themselves” (ibid., p. 514).
From this I’ve come to see that God,
Mind, loves His creation so much, so perfectly, that He’d just never ever put any
part of it into matter, which is so fragile (and, in reality, is only a counterfeit
of true, spiritual substance). Mind’s
offspring are ideas—eternally perfect and free from harm. I know that they’re right with God—present in
His mind as His thoughts, never separate in any way. Both they and we can hear God’s messages to
us, guiding us. This truth can stop
abuse—and it can prevent it. It can
bring together God’s smaller/fuzzier/scalier/etc. creations with loving
caretakers and companions. And it can
even instill in us a love and appreciation for all of God’s creatures we
encounter every single day.
