This article, by Suzanne Riedel, was first published in the December 16, 2024 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel
For ages, many have acknowledged that practicing peace and goodwill is fundamental to human life. A few examples of this come to mind, such as the 2023 Academy Award-winning short animated film The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (based on a book by Charlie Mackesy). In the film, the mole asks the boy what he wants to be when he grows up. The boy’s immediate answer is “Kind.”
Human gravitation toward goodwill, or benevolence, is also explored in Charles Dickens’ iconic A Christmas Carol. In it, Ebenezer Scrooge’s hardened rejection of good is transformed as he eventually feels the true spirit of Christmas. In such tales, the takeaway is often that kindness and goodwill are innate to the human heart and prevail even when people’s opinions and beliefs are threatened. They are qualities that are basic to a peaceful, thriving society.
Click here to read (or listen) to the rest of this article where Suzanne proves that Love is not just a feeling but a divine force that heals both physical and relationship problemsat Christmas time and always.
Christmas – one of the most important events in human history. This is a big statement to make. It’s a big statement because its message relates to us all – everyone. It’s relevant all year round, not just on one day. But what’s so big and important and relevant about Christmas?
The importance is the underlying message that Jesus’ birth ushered into the world. Yes, the details of the story are important, but it’s the underlying message that’s of the greatest importance, both then and today. It’s important because it was the beginning of a life lived with such love and dominion that it so transformed the experience of the people around him, that its legacy is still felt and celebrated over 2000 years later.
Jesus’ mission was to show us what makes life work right for us. We can see this by the effect he had on the people around him. He turned poverty into overflowing abundance; ill health into full health; even bad sinful behaviour into good honest characters. His life was entirely motivated by love – love for God and love for his fellowman.
Jesus was revealing a different, dynamic aspect to life that was not obvious to the senses but one that could bring practical healing solutions to life’s problems. He understood the tangible power of spirituality.
Spirituality relates to things of the spirit, or the non-physical. It’s all those qualities of thought that are good and true. It’s ideas that make life work right for us, like kindness, honesty, trustworthiness, intelligence, creativity, happiness. Spiritual thinking cares for all, never harming man nor beast nor the environment. It’s a living principle. If we think these are human qualities, they’re liable to human frailty and failure. Jesus showed us that these spiritual ideas and qualities have a divine source, not human. They’re sourced in God and so have divine authority and power.
Jesus continually turned to the divine, not anything material. He revealed to the world a non-physical power; a spiritual force for good, that could and did solve human need. He revealed to us that the true harmonising power underpinning our experience was God, but he showed us an entirely different way of thinking about that term God. He showed that the true concept of God was Love, as the Bible defines. He showed us that the true power, or Principle, in our lives and in our world, making existence harmonious, well and peaceful was Love, divine Love.
At Christmas, and all year round, don’t we all know that it is Love that makes the world go round. It’s Love that makes life worth living, it is Love and only Love that can bring ‘on earth peace, good will to men.’
This article was contributed by Beth Packer a member of the Wollongong Christian Science community.
Come, O fount of every vision, / Lift our eyes to what will come. / See the lion and the young lamb / Dwell together in Your home. / Hear the cries of war fall silent, / Feel our love glow like the sun, / When we all serve one another, / Then our heaven is begun.
Christian Science Canberra 