Time to ‘rock’!

The other day I was pondering the lyrics of Paul Simon’s song, “Slip Slidin’ Away.” Sometimes it may seem as if “the nearer your destination / The more you’re slip slidin’ away.” But that doesn’t have to be the refrain of our lives. Rather than be lulled into accepting discouraging setbacks or melancholy strains of futility, we can stand up and “rock”!

OK, that’s a pun, but “rock” has long been a metaphor for safety and dependability. Above all, it symbolizes the spiritual stability that comes from understanding and trusting God. Christ Jesus taught that if we build our houses (our lives) upon the rock (the Christ message behind his teachings), this keeps us safe when the rains, floods, and winds of life descend (see Matthew 7:24, 25).

In the textbook of Christian Science, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” Mary Baker Eddy includes a Glossary with spiritual definitions for Bible terms. “Rock” is defined, in part, as “Spiritual foundation; Truth” (p. 593). Building our lives on footings of spiritual Truth brings security because Truth, a synonym for God, never varies or shifts. In fact, Truth is the Principle of all existence.

The divine Principle is not a random presence that may or may not prove dependable. Rather, Principle, Truth, is the force underlying all that is good and true – including the harmony, joy, and wholeness expressed in each of us as God’s spiritual offspring. It is completely trustworthy because divine Truth is in fact the only Truth.

In this Principle, there is no regression. In fact, aligning ourselves with divine Principle will move us forward faster and in more meaningful ways than anything else ever could. Mrs. Eddy states, “If we work to become Christians as honestly and as directly upon a divine Principle, and adhere to the rule of this Principle as directly as we do to the rule of mathematics, we shall be Christian Scientists, and do more than we are now doing, and progress faster than we are now progressing” (“Christian Healing,” pp. 8-9).

We build upon this rock of divine Principle as we acknowledge and live out from God’s trustworthy presence, power, and omniscience – God’s understanding of all that He created, Truth’s knowing that all creation unfolds eternally in an orderly and harmonious fashion.

Our family experienced this once as we were preparing for a major change in our lives, which included a cross country move. We purchased a house in the new region, and prepared to transport our household, looking forward to new adventures and opportunities.

A short time later, however, the whole reason we were moving suddenly changed and plans were in limbo. As I have usually done when circumstances seem uncertain, I turned to God in prayer, knowing that the divine Mind had the right answer for us.

My prayers affirmed that we were then and always secure on the rock of Truth, governed by divine Principle; and in this spiritual reality – the only legitimate reality – progress is assured. There can be no backsliding. Goodness in our lives is upheld by God, Truth, divine Principle, not subject to human motives or decisions beyond our control. Right activity is secure and guaranteed by divine Principle.

Holding to the rock of Christ, we began to see that goodness was not shifting under our feet. We found solid ground and the confidence that through prayer, each step of the way could be seen and followed.

As it turned out, we were able to cancel the real estate contract without penalty, new opportunities opened up in another area of the country, and our family moved seamlessly in a different direction. There was progress for all involved with no “slip slidin’ away.”

Grounding ourselves on the rock of Truth, holding to the spiritual fact that God, divine Principle, is the stable foundation of our lives, paves the way for progress without retrogression. It empowers us to feel secure even amid difficulty and to continue on productively, discerning the good that God has prepared for us to have and do and be.

As the biblical Psalmist proclaimed, “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God” (Psalms 62:5-7).