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Cover Article

A RULE TO LIVE BY

From the April 2008 issue of The Christian Science Journal


I Remember Listening To A Symphony Orchestra for the very first time. In awe of the stunning beauty of all the layers of melodies and harmonies, I left the hall soaring on wings of inspiration. Only later did I realize that the harmony and soul of that symphony were governed by a principle—the principle of music. As each musician adhered to the principle of music of the piece they were playing, all of us experienced the beauty and grandeur, the harmony and joy, of the composer's unique creation.

The principle of music points to a higher power, the very Principle that governs the universe and underlies all creation. This higher Principle is God. While the Bible does not use the word principle, the concept of God as divine Principle is fundamental throughout the Scriptures. Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language (1828 edition) defines principle in part as "cause, source, or origin of anything; ... primordial substance." This definition connects beautifully to the first chapter of Genesis, which says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (1:1). God is the one cause or Principle of the entire universe. Creation, as the outcome of God's perfect thoughts and substance, is as perfect as its divine Principle is perfect.

So if this is all true, and it is, why do we not always see this perfection in our lives? Jesus told his followers a parable about the tares (the weeds) that grow up among the wholesome wheat (see Matt. 13:24–30). His simple lesson illustrates that our lives look like a mixture of opposites—the wheat representing good that has its source in God, and the tares representing evil, originated not by God but by thinking that is the antithesis of God's goodness. The parable shows that instead of accepting a mixed bag of good and bad in our lives, we can use our spiritual sense to discern and distinguish what is real (good) and what is unreal (evil). And we can live so in accord with Principle, God, that inharmony of any kind continuously disappears.

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