A new view

My wife and I have just given ourselves a new view. We've cut an opening in the side of our house and put in a window. A blank wall at the end of a dark corridor has now become a pleasant view of a peach tree at the end of our neighbor's garden.

In the Bible we read of the prophet Elisha, who prayed that his servant might have a new, enlightened view in the midst of dark circumstances. The servant had wakened one morning and seen the city they were living in surrounded by hostile forces. He was afraid of what he saw.

The prophet comforted him, telling him not to be afraid. Then he prayed, ''Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.'' The account continues, ''And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.'' n1

n1 II Kings 6:17.

Instances such as this show us that a spiritually enlightened mental standpoint can completely change our view and harmonize our lives.

Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered and founded Christian Science, tells us, ''The very circumstance, which your suffering sense deems wrathful and afflictive, Love can make an angel entertained unawares.'' n2

n2 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 574.

The teachings of Christian Science turn our thought of life from the material to the spiritual, from the ungodly to the godly. God, we learn from the Bible, is Spirit and Love, totally good. The true nature of His creation, then, is totally good, though this certainly isn't apparent to a limited mortal view of things. By holding in thought the real nature of the universe and conforming our lives to the divine fact, we gain a new perspective. Instead of seeing people as fear-ridden or fear-inducing, we begin to see them as they are in truth - as loved and loving expressions of divine Love.

Nowhere in God's universe is there a single element, or individual, with characteristics unlike His nature. The Bible tells us, ''And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.'' n3 The very essence of God's universe is the allness of good.

n3 Genesis 1:31.

The great Master, Christ Jesus, demonstrated the absolute goodness of God's creation by his healing works. He brought to light the perfect spiritual being that exists always as every individual's true identity. When he raised the dead to life, comforted the sorrowing, fed the hungry, regenerated the sinful, and cured those who were diseased, he restored to human view something of the spiritual truth of man as whole and pure. The truth had existed all the time. It simply needed to be recognized.

The message Jesus has given to the world is of the limitless possibilities open to us all when we view life spiritually instead of materially. Then we discern man as Godlike, the perfect likeness of a perfect, loving Father-Mother.

When the picture before us seems dark and gloomy - when we seem shut in and cut off from good - we can learn from the example of the Master and awaken ourselves to a better and brighter view through prayer and Christlike living. This isn't naivet or escapism. It's a practical, Christian standpoint that brings healing to human ills. In a spirit of love and understanding we can acknowledge the fact that the one creator, God, made only that which is good, and that there is no other creator or governing power. We can realize that God is Love and that He made man entirely loving. He made a universe filled with divine peace, love, life, and beauty.

Through prayer we can respond to God, listen to the truth constantly imparted by Him, and be conscious of the good that is always present. By opening our hearts and minds to reality, instead of being mesmerized by visions of limitation, we can gain the inspiration necessary to break free from mental and physical bondage. We can see afresh, in a new way, and enjoy what we see. DAILY BIBLE VERSE I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. Pslams 121:1, 2