The wayfarer had reached the mountaintop. Suddenly the panorama unrolled before his delighted gaze and made him forget all the efforts of the climb. Many towns and hamlets lay far below, and in the sunshine and profusion of bright autumn colors he saw a quiet land which spoke to him of beauty and peace.
As a student of Christian Science, however, he took in the view not just as a harmonious picture, for its deeper meaning unfolded to him. He recalled the words which God spake to Abram: "Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.... Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee."
Great good was promised to Abram and abundance was revealed to him, but he had to be prepared to receive it. The command reads, "Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art." Abram would have received but little if his range of view had been narrow, or, in other words, if his eyes had been closed to a recognition of the riches and boundless goodness of God. His understanding of the presence and operation of good on behalf of all had already found expression in unselfishness when he left the choice of land to his nephew Lot, and said to him: "Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left." Without doubt, Abram understood that nothing could be taken from him through the advantageous location of his nephew's property. Lot chose the well-watered region by Jordan which, from the mortal standpoint, he regarded as productive and desirable. But Abram could not be the loser by his generosity. His land was allotted to him by divine guidance, and in accordance with his spiritual understanding. His wide range of thought and his nobility were thereafter externalized in great abundance and blessedness.
