There's a divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them how we will.
Thus Shakespeare recognized the divine influence operating in the affairs of mankind. This divine influence is sometimes thought of as determining our destiny, which one dictionary defines as "the predetermined course of events often conceived as a resistless power or agency." Christian Science shows that destiny is determined by the operation of God's law, an irresistible spiritual force, ever active in human consciousness, impelling mankind to awaken from the dream of material sense and to acknowledge man's spiritual status.
To grasp the meaning of destiny in Science we must learn that God maintains and controls man, who is wholly spiritual, in accordance with absolute spiritual law. To understand that man lives under the mandate of the divine Mind enables us to demonstrate divine law, which counteracts and destroys the erroneous belief of mortal destiny that claims to govern mankind through fear of evil, accident, disease, loss, sin, and death. When one acknowledges and understands the fundamental truth of man's spiritual being and inevitably good destiny, he experiences healing and other blessings resulting from the operation of God's law, for harmony and joy accompany the awakening to spiritual reality. The Christian Scientist, having spiritually perceived the scientific fact that God's law governs all real activity, proves the practicality of scientific understanding by demonstrating obedience to divine Principle, God, and performing his human tasks well.
