What Are You Really Looking For?

IT seems as though we're always looking for something--a job, a place to live, companionship, something we think we need, something we think we've lost. But unless we're looking for the right thing in the right place, we'll never find it.

Christ Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount (found in Matthew), told his listeners: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. His life and teachings not only showed mankind where to look and what to look for; they also illustrated how becoming more conscious of man's spiritual heritage fulfills all our needs.

For example, I was recently caught up in a frantic search for a copy of a lease I thought I'd lost. A notice of a coming rent increase triggered my search. I looked everywhere for it--my desk, the closets, through stacks of file folders, in likely and unlikely places. Finally, in desperation and struggling with a feeling of incompetence, I did what I should have done in the first place. "Dear God, I prayed, "help me to see I'm never separated from Your divine order. All I need is already known to You and

provided by You because You are all-knowing, all-seeing Mind.

As I prayed, a question came through, loud and clear. "What are you really looking for? I was sure that I wasn't just looking for a document on paper. I had been seeking assurance that God was caring for me, holding me securely in my true dwelling place. Trusting in God's ever- present love had made it possible for me to live in this apartment for over ten years. I had to ask myself why I was suddenly worried that God would stop caring for me. I remembered something Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Fo under of Christian Science, writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. She assures us: "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need.

It came to me to check, once more, a place where I kept earlier lease renewals. There I found that my last signed lease was dated two years ago. The notice made no mention of any later lease. I had been looking for a document that did not exist! The search was over--the self-doubt and anxiousness lifted. Acknowledging God's ever-present love had reminded me that I didn't need to search anywhere for anything to give me security about my home. I already had it--my heritage from God.

The next day at the rental office, the whole question was cleared up. But this simple experience showed me that trust in God can reach into every part of our lives. In fact, the promise of the twenty-third Psalm really needs to penetrate our lives: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. . . . Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Christ Jesus constantly showed us the truth about God's man, who is spiritual, beloved of the Father. God, divine Spirit, provides us with sure spiritual dwellings that can never be lost.

Writing in Pulpit and Press, Mrs. Eddy points out: "The real house in which 'we live, and move, and have our being' is Spirit, God, the eternal harmony of infinite Soul. There's no need to search for assurance about this home, for it is God-maintained.

Healing through prayer is explored in more detail in a weekly magazine, the Christian Science Sentinel.