Windows

Bringing a spiritual perspective to daily life

My nearest window widens my world. I look out on golden-leafed trees and snowcapped mountains. To me, this panorama hints at what heaven is.

Lately, I've become aware of the term "windows of heaven." This first appears in the Bible in Genesis. But in a more meaningful way, it appears at the end of the Hebrew Scripture in this way: "Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (Mal. 3:10).

I've pondered these inspiring words that are so full of divine promise. For me, the windows represent a receptive state of mind; openness to the unlimited good God gives. They look out on blessings that come from God.

We can't overlook the leading words "Prove me now." You and I have a part to play in this proving, because we have a relationship with God. It's our part to show God's nature in our individual lives. We're aware of God pouring out His blessing to the degree that we understand Him and express the qualities of good. It's hard to resist this "spiritual proposition" when we realize that its purpose is to improve us. This improvement is possible in our lives today.

In their search for God and for more happiness and freedom, people all over the world are probing the Scriptures and proving that there's significance in words like these: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). The life-mission of the man who spoke those words, Jesus Christ, was to reveal that we are all God's children. This relationship naturally entitles each of us to a marvelous, perfect identity. We reflect what God, the divine Spirit, is. And God is good.

This reflection happens first in our thoughts. As we are open to the idea that we have a divine inheritance, we are open to seeing heaven. Actually, it is already within our own consciousness, just waiting for acknowledgment - for proof. It's in this light that proving God becomes our mission.

You can bring more heaven into your life wherever you are, whatever your circumstances. I've seen this happen. Once, we relocated from a large city to a small, rural town that lacked the culture I loved. This forced me to open up and begin discerning and expressing my particular God-given talents. To see how God was right there. Another relocation has shown me more that when I'm conscious of the totality and goodness of God, I do have the more abundant life that Jesus described.

The Science of what Jesus taught involves proving his words. He taught that we are the perfect expression of God, and that we must glorify God by seeing ourselves as His very likeness. Openly expressing good in our thinking and living transforms our lives. It includes helping other people find their own individuality as God's sons and daughters.

Not long ago, a prison inmate wrote me that he sees clouds and mountains from his cell window, and sometimes watches cows drink from a pond. But my friend wishes he could open his window. The moment I read his letter, I remembered a psalm that includes the words "Beautiful for situation" (48:2). I began a letter explaining how he could find - prove - his innate freedom by spiritualizing his view of existence, seeing life through the windows of heaven. He, too, could start making his situation more beautiful. He, too, could start transforming confinement into freedom, by consciously breaking through views of his identity that restricted, isolated, or prevented him from expressing God's nature. No walls or bars can obstruct the unlimited, spiritual horizon we see through understanding God and our relationship to Him.

Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered the Science of Christianity, said in reference to that Bible passage from Malachi: "There is with us at this hour this great, great blessing; and may I say with the consciousness of Mind [God] that the fulfilment of divine Love in our lives is the demand of this hour - the special demand" ("The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany," Pgs. 131-132). Let's all seek heaven - the understanding of God. It lies within us, now, and allows us to prove our unity with all that is good.

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