'So, get paid now!'
Say not ye, There are yet
four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you,
Lift up your eyes, and look on
the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
John 4:35
WHEN I DID MY flower deliveries in Johannesburg, I took my preschool son with me. He was very fond of fried chicken, so I always bought him a big piece every day. One morning, when he asked for the usual, I explained to him that I had not yet been paid.
He listened intently and then said, "So, get paid now!"
In a child's mind there is often no past or future - only right now. As wiser adults (so we think), aren't we prone to postponing something good until the next time? And yet, what about those words of Jesus? What about having whatever is needed now? Spiritually speaking, now is the only time. "We own no past, no future, we possess only now" (Mary Baker Eddy, "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany," pg. 12).
What are the things that we can always have now? Material objects are mined, manufactured, bought, and sold; this always takes time. But spiritual things, such as health, joy, love, goodness, and many others, are from God, who is beyond time. We can always possess them as thoughts, by reflecting God. Knowing Him. According to this line of reasoning, my son was actually onto something when he insisted on having something good right away.
Humanitarian relief in war-torn countries is often delayed or stopped, and thus suffering is prolonged. This is because of the universal belief that good is fundamentally physical, material - coming from someplace other than God - and that we've got to possess it, sometimes hoard it. It will help everyone to realize that spiritual good is always available from the divine Mind, God, now. Doing this first will bring very real help to people's lives.
Needy people can be assured that they are not destined to be helpless, homeless mortals, because they are spiritual, children of God, living in His rich kingdom. This enlightened view of the situation will start to dispel the darkness of conflict, the feeling that we're just warring and lacking. It will bring healing to individual situations. Existence is subjective; when your thought is in line with the truth of God, your human experiences must conform to your improved consciousness.
Think of this description of children: "representatives of Life, Truth, and Love" ("Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," by Mary Baker Eddy, pg. 582). Children clearly represent God. The inventor of the Polaroid camera was urged by his young daughter to make an instantaneous photograph - after seeing pictures taken, she asked, "Why can't I see them now, Daddy?" Being a discerning scientist - and parent - Dr. Edwin Land developed the idea for a new photographic process in the space of an hour, and to the benefit of millions.
If you and I follow Jesus' command to trust as little children do (see Mark 10:13-16), we will be more focused on finding God's goodness here and now.
When anything good that people pray for or yearn to have seems long in coming, they often despair. But God is everything good. God is also omnipresent. So any good we need is here, now, to be readily seen first as spiritual, not material. Once spiritually understood, it will become evident in all ways.
If we, like the prodigal son, have broken away from the understanding that we really are the sons and daughters of a rich Father-Mother, God, we may wander in the wilderness of want and find that "no man will give unto us." But being childlike and trusting God to care for us, we, too, will "come to ourselves," and return to our rejoicing Parent - not as pariahs but as heirs.
Just think! If you are in an adverse situation, you can wake up to the truth that good is never fundamentally material, but is always unlimited. Spiritual. From God. Then you will find you're forever in His household, the kingdom of God. And you can expect to find that you have what you need.
