IT is not a mistake to take literally God's promises in the Bible. Rather, it is a mistake which may deprive us of safety, health, and peace if we fail to recognize that these promises are for our present use.
Often Scriptural promises are read because they are beautiful. At other times we may read them to gain a sense of comfort. They are helpful when read for any purpose. They are especially beneficial when we accept them as the truth which can be applied to human problems. As we come to rely understandingly on these promises, they meet our present needs.
Through various stages of human progress mankind have been faced with overpowering beliefs of evil. They have known fear of loss of all that seems good and rightfully theirs and even fear of annihilation. The cry of the human heart seems to be, "Surely there is a safe way out of this difficulty; surely there is a power which can save us!" This cry may indicate a newborn willingness to accept the promises of God, a yearning to know God and to feel the safety of His presence. To such a receptive thought, the ever-available Christ, Truth, awaits admission.
In the Bible we find many statements of Truth which point out that man's safety is under the control of God. For instance, the ninety-first Psalm assures us of a safe dwelling place. There we read, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
Our Master, Christ Jesus, walked on the water, healed the sick, fed the multitudes, and overcame death for himself as well as for others. He was able to do this because his thought was always filled with the healing and saving Truth. As we look to Truth as the means of meeting the problems which confront us, making an earnest effort to have that Mind in us "which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5), we shall be blessed.
Mrs. Eddy calls attention to our duty in this regard on page 210 of Miscellany where she writes, "Beloved Christian Scientists, keep your minds so filled with Truth and Love, that sin, disease, and death cannot enter them." On the same page we read: "Good thoughts are an impervious armor; clad therewith you are completely shielded from the attacks of error of every sort. And not only yourselves are safe, but all whom your thoughts rest upon are thereby benefited."
According to this statement it is evident that safety is a spiritually mental state. And this state of consciousness is possible to everyone. This fact is encouraging, since from the standpoint of matter, it seems that no true safety can be found. While thought is being given to the safety of the world—the building of missiles and antimissile missiles and of bombproof shelters—there seems to be a need for greater assurance of safety than the human mind has yet devised.
How can one think of himself as ever being safe from the evil planning of another so long as he believes himself to be a mortal and subject to mortal mind dangers? How can one feel that his nation is secure and safe from the designs of other nations so long as he thinks of these nations as being peopled with mortals, possibly controlled by evil desires, greed, and lust for power? Assurance of safety and a feeling of peace are not born in such a state of thought.
Worthwhile as it is to be a good citizen, a good neighbor and friend, the human sense of life is not secure unless it is spiritually founded and defended. Goodness should not be thought of as a personal thing. We need to learn that goodness is a quality of God and that every idea of God has this quality of true goodness.
The first step indicated in seeking safety, then, is to seek spiritual understanding. Indeed, spiritual understanding is one's only need, for in this understanding is found the truth of God, the truth of man, and the facts of their relationship. Spiritual discernment brings the understanding that God creates all that really exists; that He makes man in His image and likeness; and that man and the universe are now and will always be under the divine government and control of God. When a sense of safety is the goal, one needs to understand that in his real selfhood he is never separated from God. As the relationship of God and man, Mind and its idea, Father and son, is accepted, one's separation from God will be seen as an utter impossibility.
Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, entreats us in these words (Science and Health, p. 91): "Let us rid ourselves of the belief that man is separated from God, and obey only the divine Principle, Life and Love. Here is the great point of departure for all true spiritual growth." It is in the recognition of his true being that one finds his unity with God. Jesus was conscious of the presence of God at all times. It was this conscious awareness of God's presence that enabled him to perform the mighty works which have blessed mankind. As one makes this understanding his own, application becomes a part of one's deportment and determines the degree of safety in one's experience.
In Science and Health we read (p. 295): "God creates and governs the universe, including man. The universe is filled with spiritual ideas, which He evolves, and they are obedient to the Mind that makes them." When we reach the understanding that God governs all, we put out of consciousness the fear of disaster. Keeping our thought filled with Truth, instead of error, with Love, instead of hate, with Spirit, instead of matter, we find that our affairs are divinely governed. Harmony and a sense of peace accompany such control. The individual who allows his affairs to be so governed is really dwelling "in the secret place of the most High." Naturally he dwells in safety and peace.
