An acquaintance in Europe recently asked, "Don't you feel you're living in the wild west these days?" Given the news about all the gun deaths here in the US, it isn't hard to see how many can think this.
Which brings me to the point of this blog post: feeling, and being, safe no matter what the circumstances may be. It is comforting to learn we don't have to live with uneasiness, insecurity. We don't have to give in to fear for our well-being, for the well-being of those we love. Why is this? Because there is a reliable source of protection, and that is understanding God's ever-presence and man's inseparability from God.
For centuries, men and women in dangerous situations have turned to the Bible for promises of God's care. For example, Psalm 139 declares God's unbounded "everywhereness": "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me" (verses 7-10). And here's another promise: "The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders" (Deut. 33:12).
Of course, the five physical senses report that we're not always sheltered in God's care, that we can find ourselves somewhere He is not. But to mankind's everlasting benefit, Christ Jesus showed that this is not the case. Example: an angry mob once led him to the top of a hill with the violent intent of throwing him off. "But he passing through the midst of them sent his way," we read in Luke.
"But this is Jesus you're talking about!' someone may be thinking. "Little wonder he was able to escape harm!" Nonetheless, what our Lord and Master knew and proved of God and man, any one can discern, understand, and put to daily use.
Christian Science has helped me through the years do this. Following are just some of the truths one discovers from its teachings:
--Man is spiritual, the beloved child of his Maker, divine Mind, never for a moment separated from God's all-encompassing care.
--God is the only power, the all-wise, all-directing and all-seeing divine Mind. You and I (and everyone else in the world) are actually God's offspring, and so we must all continuously reflect His control.
--Our heavenly Father maintains us in perfect relation to Himself. And to each other. Knowing this helps us stay out of the range of accident or conflict, and in fact, it helps prevent such situations. As stars fixed in their courses move harmoniously, so the ideas of God, Spirit, move harmoniously in His orbits. God's orbits are spiritual, as are the movements of His ideas.
As Mary Baker Eddy writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (page 522): "Existence, separate from divinity, Science explains as impossible."
It's a wonderful thing to realize that we can't be out of God's presence, and so are safe--wherever we happen to be.
