The infinite nature of God

PERHAPS you've seen pictures of the farthest points of the universe viewed, thus far, by man through a telescope. Imagine that we could see another billion light-years beyond that. Or even another billion. No matter how far out into the universe you might mentally picture going, you would still not have begun to envision the infinitude of God. It takes more than mere human comprehension to understand God's infinitude, because His nature is spiritual, not material. Spiritual understanding, though, can grasp it. The Psalmist found comfort in an understanding of God's infinitude. He said: ``Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.'' 1 Elsewhere the Bible says of God, ``Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee.'' 2 To be infinite is to be without limits. Where there's a limit there's finiteness. Being truly infinite, God knows no restrictions of space, ability, or power. He is everywhere. There are no edges or limits to His presence, nor are there pockets where He is absent. Neither is there any place where God is not supreme, for He governs all. God is also all-knowing. If He were not, this would imply a limit to His comprehension, and God would be finite. Infinite divine Mind, God, encompasses and comprehends all real being. Does this mean that God dwells in or with matter? No. God is Spirit, and Spirit and matter don't mix. They're opposites, as the Bible makes clear.3 To presume that Spirit coexists with matter and disease would be to clamp all sorts of limits on Spirit's presence and power and set up a perpetual tussle between Spirit and the flesh, good and evil. In the Christian Science textbook Mary Baker Eddy4 writes, ``We bury the sense of infinitude, when we admit that, although God is infinite, evil has a place in this infinity, for evil can have no place, where all space is filled with God.'' 5 Some time ago a friend of mine was suffering from a very stiff neck, unable even to move his head. One evening he went out walking and began thinking about God and His infinitude. He began to see that God is everywhere, All, and is eternally expressing His allness in man, His image. For a moment his thought was filled with this idea of Spirit's allness. In that instant he was suddenly healed of the stiffness. The problem didn't gradually get better--it was healed instantaneously. Had the stiff neck been a strictly physical condition, it could have been alleviated only through physical processes. But it disappeared instantly with the influx of spiritual inspiration, which showed the mental nature of the difficulty. Christian Science shows that all disease stems, fundamentally, from a misconception of man's true spiritual identity, and that healing is the natural result of gaining spiritual understanding. Discernment of the truth of God's infinitude causes our perceptions to change. As our belief in disease yields to an understanding of the harmony of God and man, the evidence of disease gives way to the proof of that ever-present spiritual harmony. Christ Jesus was able to heal ``all manner of disease'' quickly and wholly because of what he discerned and expressed of God's infinite nature. The Father's ever-presence and all-power, unknown to the material thought of others, were vividly real to the Master, and this gave him unmatched dominion over the evidences of sin, disease, and death. Jesus expected us to follow in the way he pointed out, and the spiritual healing he demonstrated follows from an understanding of God. We have no fear of disease when we understand that it has no place in God or His expression, man. And when our fear of disease vanishes, so does the disease itself. God truly is infinite. Therefore nothing can oppose Him. This powerful truth--understood--brings healing. 1 Psalms 139:7-10. 2 I Kings 8:27. 3 See, for example, John 6:63, Galatians 5:17. 4 The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. 5 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 469.

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