Dead end or new view?

THE sign read ``Dead End,'' but we drove on past it. We pulled over shortly and stopped. There before us was the magnificent view we had driven on down the road to see. In a few weeks the beach would be crowded with vacationers, but that bright spring morning it was deserted except for the tiny sandpipers rushing around each wave as it broke on the shore. The sun shone so brilliantly that the sand sparkled like a field of diamonds. As we sat there drinking in the view, we were inspired to talk about God's goodness and love. Well, actually the conversation began with a discussion of dead ends! We talked about how life so often seems to include dead ends. Divorce. A suspicion or fear of incurability. Loss of a loved one. Forced retirement. These and other situations may cause someone to feel his life is over -- or at least not worth living.

Next we talked about new views. We both recalled a statement by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science: ``Each successive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine goodness and love.''1

Then we talked about understanding. It was, in a sense, understanding that had enabled us to drive past the sign on the road without stopping. We knew that the lovely view of the ocean was beyond the sign. Finally, we discussed how an understanding of God and of man's relationship to Him can enable one to pass through what might appear to be some dead end in his experience and move forward to a higher and better view of God's goodness and love.

Christian Science, in harmony with the Bible, teaches that God is everlasting Love, illimitable Spirit, infinite Mind, endless Life. It teaches that the true identity of each of us is Love's image and likeness, as the Bible indicates in its very first chapter. Man, then, is spiritual, immortal. He is forever expressing the infinite nature of God. He knows no limitations, no dead ends. This is the absolute reality of God and man, and though it may seem abstract to our present sense of things, it can be a powerful, practical help right where we are.

As one accepts these spiritual facts about himself and strives to live what he is learning to the best of his ability, he begins to prove that ``eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.''2

Christ Jesus proved that God never ``prepared'' a dead end for anyone. His resurrection powerfully demonstrated the immortality of his mission as well as his life. Truly the Master's example tells all his followers that good cannot be limited, cannot end.

A Christian Scientist who had seen the breaking down of limitations many times, including a complete healing of total paralysis, came face to face with a situation that many would consider a dead end. After forty years of a happy marriage her husband passed on suddenly. Much love was expressed to her by family and friends, and she was grateful for this, but she felt it was God's love that was most needed.

All of her married children wanted to give her a home with them. The temptation to accept was great, particularly since none of them lived nearby. She felt, however, that to accept at that time might lead her to depend more on family than on God.

She knew that divine Love always had cared for her every need and always would. She saw that she could not be made to believe Love's care could come to a stop. So, trusting God, she went forward. Quickly she gained a new view of herself. A feeling of spiritual independence and conscious worth beyond what she had previously known brought joy and freedom. Fresh opportunities to help others understand God brought a sense of completeness and well-being.

So, should a ``Dead End'' sign loom up on your horizon, think of it as a signal to understand more of God's goodness and love. Take heart. Move forward. There's a lovely new view ahead!

1Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 66. 2I Corinthians 2:9.

You can find more articles like this one in the Christian Science Sentinel, a weekly magazine. DAILY BIBLE VERSE: Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Psalms 119:18