A Sure Foundation
SOMETIMES events in one's own country as well as elsewhere in the world seem overwhelming. Natural disasters, terrorism, disunity in government, and just plain confusion can be difficult to deal with-especially if we think we have only our own physical and mental resources to rely on.
One of the wonderful things about the Bible is that it tells us that we aren't alone! In fact, we actually have the infinite goodness of God, divine Love, to help us. And this Love is a sure foundation; it will be with us no matter what kind of trouble we are facing.
In the New Testament the Bible tells us that Christ Jesus' chief work was to teach us about God, about Love. He was a great prophet and healer, but more than that, he was the Son of God. He wanted to help each of us learn that we too have an unbreakable relationship to God, divine Spirit, and that we are spiritual ideas of our Father, God. This means that instead of being material creatures whose basic function is to live, reproduce, and die, we have a much higher purpose. We are meant to express God -to reflect His qualities, such as goodness, purity, love, joy, and peace. Jesus' life was devoted to helping people understand their spiritual natures and see how this would help and heal them.
Although we often think of the past as a happier or simpler time, life in Jesus' day was just as filled with danger and turmoil as ours is-even though these elements might have taken on different forms. There were plenty of people who felt confused and frightened about what the future would hold for them, just as there are today.
One day Jesus told people a parable that spells out the way to obtain lasting inner peace. He described two householders. One built his house on sand, which is not a solid foundation at all. So when fierce rains came, the house fell down flat. The other one built his house on rock. Jesus went on to say, ''The rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock'' (Matthew 7:25).
The rock Jesus was talking about wasn't some kind of special building material, however. Jesus was referring to the Christ, the true idea of God. Through Christ, which Jesus expressed so fully, we learn to know ourselves as spiritual ideas of God, divine Mind. Under God's care, we can never be separated from good or from life, because we know that God is our Life. We discover that we live in God, Spirit, not in a material body that is vulnerable to decay and danger.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, spoke of this foundation in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. She wrote: ''The supremacy of Spirit was the foundation on which Jesus built. His sublime summary points to the religion of Love'' (p. 138).
When trouble of any kind threatens, we can take a few moments to pray and to understand that Spirit really is the only power; it is supreme. We can also pray for Spirit's guidance in all that we do-even the small things like when to leave for work, how to organize our time each day, and so forth. If we can learn to turn to God's direction for each task we have to do, we'll find that we make better use of our time and have better experience in dealing with others.
Of course the purpose of living this way isn't just to have a smoother human experience! When we live under God's direction, we are resting on a foundation of Love, and this gives us security no matter what kind of circumstances we face. As we rely on divine Love more and more, we find our needs met in different ways. This builds up a foundation of trust, a certainty that we can turn to God when we are in trouble. Then, if a serious problem arises, we don't feel alone. We know that Love is present right where we are. This certainty of God's care gives us rocklike strength every day-even if nothing major goes wrong! And it enables us to be peaceful and strong for others as well as ourselves.
Who is a rock, save our God?
II Samuel 22:32
