Human existence can sometimes seem like an uncertain proposition and, for many, finding security in any direction might seem difficult. But a couple of months ago, while I was teaching a beginner Christian Science Sunday School class, I got some new insights into the fact that the only place we find lasting security is in ever-present divine Truth, or God.
The Bible Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly that week included the parable Christ Jesus tells of the shepherd who loses one sheep and leaves his ninety-nine others to go find that one (see Luke 15:4–7). This parable emphasizes the great assurance that God, Love, is our Shepherd and could never allow even one of us to be lost or abandoned. In an effort to help my young student think about this reassuring message, I asked him: “How would you have felt if you were that lost sheep and you saw the shepherd coming to find you?” I thought he might say, “relieved” or “happy,” but his immediate reply was, “I would tell the shepherd that I was not lost!”
To me, this was more than a precocious child’s response. I saw in his answer an absolute statement of truth, one that led me to understand more clearly that the shepherd represents not only divine Love but divine Principle, which cannot allow even one exception to the perfect, all-encompassing order of creation. This parable assures us that we are helped and saved because this is how Principle, which never allows us to stray, embraces our human experience.
