THAT for which all men are most earnestly seeking is some means or method by which they may be insured protection against calamity, sorrow, or suffering. Self-preservation is said to be the first law of nature. When trouble of any kind is traced back to its origin, it is found to arise from fear, and if only some way could be discovered whereby all fear of disease, danger, failure, loss, or disaster could be removed, then men could breathe more freely and rest more secure. Now this way is exactly what Christian Science has come to reveal to mankind, and this it does by pointing to God as the source of perfect safety and showing that in Him may be found deliverance from all ills.
Of course this is not a new revelation. No one acquainted with the teachings of Scripture is unaware that it presents a God who is ever present and all powerful, and who is good, loving, and true. But this teaching has to a very large extent been accepted only theoretically and has not been regarded as of practical value in the general affairs of every-day life. Christian Science,, however, declares that if the understanding of or faith in God is applicable to any one thing at any time, it must be to every thing at every time.
It is evident that if God's power overcomes and destroys the power of sin, it is because of His superiority to sin; and if He is superior to it, then sin in His presence is without power, and to take away its power is to rob it of its supposed existence. But Christian Science does not rest here; it goes on to show that if God is superior to and destroys sin, then He is no less superior to all of sin's consequences and destroys them also. The presence of infinite good nullifies and entirely eliminates the so-called power of evil, and man has the ability to apply his knowledge of the presence and power of good to every condition and circumstance that may arise. In "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 238) Mrs. Eddy says, "God is understandable, knowable, and applicable to every human need." Among the first great needs of humanity is deliverance from the ills of mortal existence, from sickness, sorrow, lack, failure, discouragement, loneliness, friendlessness, and the like. Salvation from all these is found in a right understanding of God. It is impossible to conceive of any condition in life where the knowledge of God could not be applicable.
