My children grew up loving the Disney-animated movie “Aladdin.” One of their favorite parts was when the genie sings the song, “A Friend Like Me.” The lyrics include the words, “You ain’t never had a friend like me” – which hints at the possibility of unconditional friendship. That may be a hard thing to come by these days, especially when life often seems so hectic, unstable, stressful. It’s easy to feel alone and lonely.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, offered a reliable way to alleviate loneliness – the unconditional friendship of God, divine Love. As a young woman, Eddy lost her brother, mother and husband to sickness, all within just a few years. Shortly after, her only child was taken from her because her family felt she was too ill to care for the little boy.
But throughout all of this, she relied on the love of God. As she searched the Bible, she found Deity to truly be an unconditional Friend. He gave her comfort, strength, courage, and inspiration until she reached the point of spiritual discovery that turned her life completely around.
To find such a loving, healing God in the Scriptures is not surprising since they state, “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee” (Jer. 31: 3). Eddy found, and so can we, that this everlasting Love is with each of us, always, no matter where we are, no matter what we have done.
Through this love of God, Eddy’s life became extremely productive and helpful to others. She brought comfort and health into millions of lives through her healing practice and teaching; establishing the world-wide Church of Christ, Scientist; and founding The Pulitzer-prize winning newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor. She continued throughout her life to encourage her readers to turn to this ever-present divine Love for companionship, forgiveness, love, affection and purpose.
When the world seems dark or you feel lonely, these are precisely the times to acknowledge the presence of God. That’s a beginning. It leads to a relationship with an all-loving power that brings deliverance from terror, fear and depression. You will be able to hear in the deepest part of your heart, “You ain’t never had a friend like Me (divine Love)!”
