Safe in God

SAFETY may well seem elusive when people are victimized by the unpredictability of nature or even of their fellow beings. Yet ready to comfort and protect anguished, fearful humanity are the monumental life and teaching of Christ Jesus. He leads us to God. When the boat they were in was about to be swamped and the disciples were terrified they would perish, the Master quieted the storm, ``and there was a great calm.''1 When a mob threatened him, ``he escaped out of their hand.''2

But Jesus was not alone in this safety. The Old and New Testaments tell of Joseph, Daniel, Elisha, Peter, Paul, and others who found divine protection. They were spared through the power of God. The Psalmist describes this protection as dwelling ``in the secret place of the most High'' where ``there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.''3

The Psalmist indicates that we have our part to play if these promises are to be fulfilled in our lives. Our part is to have faith. Not blind faith but scientific faith--what we might call spiritual understanding. Just as some natural laws, such as those of aerodynamics, can be understood and harnessed for human good, so God's universal law of good can be understood and applied for His glory and mankind's blessing. Divine Love is not capricious, randomly saving some and forsaking others.

Through cultivating the childlikeness that Jesus spoke of, we can come to understand God. The Master said, ``Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.''4 He was commending the Christly qualities he himself so perfectly expressed--innocence, purity, and meekness.

Through such qualities our consciousness transcends human intellect; it transcends reason based on material premises. We come to know God as He is rather than as popular opinion presents Him. We learn that He is infinite good, universal Love, perfect Being. We begin to grasp that He fills all space and is all-knowing. Also, we come to see man more clearly, not as the mortal he appears to be but as God's likeness, His spiritual offspring.

As a result of spiritual awakening, God's goodness and supremacy become to us what they actually are--the one and only reality. Since God is perfect, infinite good, His creation includes no chaos, no mindless slaughter, no greed, selfishness, or madness. Infinite God and His creation, His manifestation, fill all space and express unchanging harmony. God's peace and joy are reflected in His offspring.

This isn't a naive standpoint or some sort of escapism. It's the ultimate and absolute truth of being, and our growing perception of it can help us find greater safety, and help mankind as well.

Though spiritual understanding may come by degrees through prayer and purification of thought, it can now comfort and protect us all. As necessary as armaments may be at this time, spiritual understanding is the ultimate defender of all earth's men, women, and children as well as of the environment. Speaking of the new heaven and new earth prophesied in the book of Revelation, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, writes: ``Take heart, dear sufferer, for this reality of being will surely appear sometime and in some way. There will be no more pain, and all tears will be wiped away. When you read this, remember Jesus' words, `The kingdom of God is within you.' This spiritual consciousness is therefore a present possibility.''5

The impossible can never occur. That Christ Jesus and others could be saved from natural and man-made disasters proves there is a law of God to save us as well. Through God's unchanging love we all can draw near Him and be safe.

1Mark 4:39. 2John 10:39. 3Psalms 91:1, 10. 4Matthew 18:3. 5Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pp. 573-574. You can find more articles like this one in the Christian Science Sentinel, a weekly magazine. DAILY BIBLE VERSE O Lord, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. Psalms 36:6,7