God's Law Provides for Us
IN spite of the uncertainty of economic predictions, there is an unerring law of God we can turn to that will sustain us and provide for our needs. The Bible contains numerous accounts of individuals who proved the validity of divine law in the midst of adverse economic conditions. Moses was able to trust this law to provide water and food for the children of Israel when starvation seemed imminent.1 In obedience to Jesus' reliance on divine law, Peter pulled a coin from a fish's mouth to pay taxes2 -- hardly the kind of thing an economic indicator could measure or an expert would predict. The basis of these incidents and of our own right to realize something of the love and abundant care of God is the spiritual reality of God and man. God is man's tender Father-Mother. He never ceases to care for His children. God creates man to be complete, including every necessary thing for his well-being. Circumstances often contradict this reality, but because it is reality, the spiritual truth of God and man, we can look to it as divine law, provable in human experience.
We need never doubt God's omnipresent and supreme love. As Christ Jesus said, ``Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.''3
But we cannot prove God's law of good from the basis of selfish materialism. The desire to serve God and to prove His allness must be our motive. As we purify our motive to worship only God and not money, investments, or material acquisitions, we will receive the right ideas that will provide us with what we need.
Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science and founded this newspaper, puts it this way: ``God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies. Never ask for to-morrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment.''4
Several years ago my husband was a salesman doing straight commission work. His business was hit severely by recession, and after some months of minimal income we endured a month with no income. We borrowed money from a family member that month, and I began to pray in earnest to understand God's love for and care of our family. I purified my motives, striving to understand that my only desire was to serve God, and I listened humbly for His sustaining ideas. As I prayed, my thoughts were filled with gratitude for and the assurance of all that God was providing us with. I felt the promise of this statement in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mrs. Eddy: ``To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings.''5
Then a relative suggested a way that I could do some work in our home while taking care of our two small children. Also, my husband's business returned to normal despite the recession.
Our financial situation improved, and within a year we had paid off several loans and were meeting our financial obligations.
The great thing about working from the basis of God's law is that it really is a law. God can be depended on to love each of His children and to provide for them. His law is universal, and we're able to prove something of it whenever we trustingly and unselfishly appeal to it.
No one need benefit at the expense of another, and fear and greed do not hold sway over God's law, for all are blessed.
1See Exodus, chaps. 16-17. 2See Matthew 17:24-27. 3Luke 12:32. 4Miscellaneous Writings, p. 307. 5Science and Health, p. vii.
