Genuine Security

IF you loved someone and saw him looking for security in something you knew offered no security at all, wouldn't you warn him?That's what the Bible is doing for us now. The one who loves us is God. And His message in the Bible is that security is found in divine Truth and Love rather than in any human arrangement or invention. Christ Jesus repeatedly explained the need to shape our lives after this spiritual model of life. God, who is good itself, is the center of all true existence, and man's life is actually spiritual, created and maintained by God. This fact, Jesus taught, should form the basis of our thinking and living. "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, Jesus says in Matthew's Gospel, "I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. When I think of "house in this context, I find it helpful to include all that I am working at in my life--all that I am constructing. It can certainly include an actual home, but it may also include marriage, child-rearing, career, health--the full range of activities that make up our life, community, and world. Isn't Jesus saying that safeguarding the important things in our lives is certain to the degree that the foundation on which we build them is spiritual? We need to understand what true security is and actually make spiritual values part of our thinking every day. The house Jesus spoke of doesn't just appear--we have to build it. There is work to be done, and the work must be in the right direction. Since God is eternal, He doesn't change. Security rooted in spiritual values is lasting and is undisturbed by tumult, including ups and downs in the economy. Sometimes our thoughts about security are influenced by what we feel we need to be happy. But when we reason about our happiness from the same spiritual facts underlying all security, we see that happiness is permanent only as it is based on spirituality. Then it is not only safe and lasting but constantly expanding in scope as well. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, speaks of the infinite resources of God, Soul, in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. She says: "Soul has infinite resources with which to bless mankind, and happiness would be more readily attained and would be more secure in our keeping, if sought in Soul. Higher enjoyments alone can satisfy the cravings of immortal man. Our trust in spiritually-based security is made easier and easier as we grow in our understanding of the nature of God. Since He could not be finite or limited or even humanlike, His creation and provision for man must be spiritual and unlimited. The fact that God is unlimited rules out limited material ways and means in what God does. This includes the way He forms man. Man is made as the spiritual offspring of God. The truth is that God creates man in perfect accord with Himself--always loved, always c ared for, always with Him. Gaining an understanding of the real security these spiritual facts give, isn't done, of course, in an instant. It involves prayer--quiet communion with God. It requires examination of our thought and the conquering of sin. It requires us to live our growing sense of Christianity. These are the building blocks of our unfailing security. Trust in material riches is perhaps the biggest stumbling block to true security. In a parable, Jesus tells of an already successful man who hasn't enough storage capacity for his plentiful harvest. He decides to tear down his barns and build larger ones. His dependence on material things is shown to be hollow, however, when he dies before he can implement his plan. Jesus uses the parable to illustrate that "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. Can't we apply what he said to our fears about investments, retirement income, and the like? Far from being rooted in what we have materially, our lives are forever anchored in the loving care of God. God's care for His creation never changes, never fails. Genuine security, then, is not found in what we have but in what we're doing. It's in spiritual activity rather than material accumulation. We can allow God's law to govern our lives, and as we do, we'll find our security every day.

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BIBLE VERSE Godliness with contentment is great gain. . . . Follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. . . . Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. I Timothy 6:6, 11, 17-19