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Omnipotence

  There is no power apart from God. Omnipotence has all-power, and to acknowledge any other power is to dishonor God. (SH 228:25)

Physically, we think of power as measurable strength, the amount of work done to an object over a period of time. When mental forces oppose each other, as in the so-called battle between good and evil, we might think that the strength of God must be mighty indeed to overcome evil's resistance, but how much brute force is required to fill an infinite universe if there is no resistance? The definition of the prefix omni, meaning all, precludes the possibility of any opposition to omnipotence. In a one power universe there cannot be resistance, battles, or brute force. With nothing to resist it and no law of limits, would not even a whisper radiate throughout the universe instantaneously and be omnipotent? That is why omnipotent Love has no contests, is ever-present, and infinite. As there is only one cause or source of ideas, there can be no other voices - no mortal mind or physical bodies with limited senses. Whatever appears to have opposing forces, from atomic particles to mortal arguments, cannot be associated with a one-power universe; therefore, this evidence is inconsistent with a quality of God and must be false. Isaiah foresaw a universe without conflict - "they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord" (11:9). Mrs. Eddy stated the same idea scientifically, "Matter disappears under the microscope of Spirit" (SH 264:21).

The right hand of the Lord was indeed mighty to the ancient prophets, and many stories are recorded of battles being won, disobedience being punished, and evil being destroyed. It is a question whether these early pioneers understood the scientific nature of omnipotence, but their faithfulness and earnest desire to practice what they did know was adequate to meet their daily needs. God does not offer a quantity of good energy to destroy a contrary energy. Omnipotence is the nature of serene confidence, where there are no enemies. Jesus whipped the money changers out of the temple to make room for the presence of truth and love to be witnessed without an enemy. Was not Christ's purpose to cleanse our minds and bodies so that we could feel the nature of omnipotence? Without enemies, the temple of God, which we are, functions perfectly.

What we identify as fear, hatred, malice, and sin is defined only by our adopted imaginations. Without the encouragement of Jesus' remarkable healing power and thought-provoking instructions, we may never have searched for anything outside of our own embattled thoughts. He taught us in his Beatitudes to identify the mental conditions that would squelch mistaken thoughts, enabling us to reap the benefits of infinite good. When we grasp omnipotence scientifically, the Beatitudes will have fulfilled their purpose. "Only with mine eye can I behold the snare, the pit, the fall" (Mis 389:10). Without "mine eye" to observe the so-called pleasures and plagues of earth, the instruction to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to hunger and thirst after righteousness, and to be a peacemaker is unnecessary because sensation, sorrow, human striving, and war do not exist outside of mortal consciousness. In the presence of omnipotent Love, even persecution has no meaning or power, and that is why Jesus survived the cross, death, and the grave. We, too, must find ourselves blessed without any opposition or resistance, for "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex 20:3).

We may believe that we can empower matter to organize itself into healthy or sick substance and encourage it to do so through our personal influence. We may imagine that the size of our brains, the strength of our bodies, and the size of our bank accounts, are measures of our intelligence, happiness, and success, but the notion of power embedded in the things of this world is a mistake. Let this stubborn attachment to self gently pass from consciousness. We must meet and master evil in all its forms, not by using God to fight our battles but by systematically overcoming our ignorance of God's omnipotence. When our concept of God is accurate, the Word becomes a living presence.

"There is but one creator and one creation. This creation consists of the unfolding of spiritual ideas and their identities, which are embraced in the infinite Mind and forever reflected. These ideas range from the infinitesimal to infinity," and every one of them manifests omnipotence to the same degree (SH 502:29). Omnipotent Truth has nothing to judge. Omnipotent Mind has no other thought. To omnipotent Life, limit has no meaning and is not a word.

We live in a one-power universe. Omnipotence is as gentle as a whisper, as mighty as the Truth, and as permanent as Life. There is no stopping it!

George Denninger ©

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