Supply and Demand

THE owner of a rental property was surprised when a longtime tenant vacated on short notice. She spent much time refurbishing and lovingly preparing the property before advertising it. Since she didn't yet have a new tenant, as many in Europe have found, expenses soon threatened to deplete her savings.

As a Bible student, the owner was familiar with Christ Jesus' remarkable healings of sickness and sin and the many other problems of human existence. Hadn't he sent his disciple Simon Peter to find tax money in a fish's mouth? Hadn't he fed more than five thousand people with a few loaves and fishes? These examples of supplying the needs of his fellowman were not sleight-of-hand tricks. They were absolute proofs that our heavenly Father, God, answers prayer in practical ways.

The woman had turned to God many times before, and her prayers had always been answered. She realized that she could rely on God for help in this situation. Two Bible verses in II Corinthians were startling in their relevance. They emphasized to her that because supply and demand are spiritual, they must always be equal. Paul tells the Corinthians, ``I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abu ndance also may be a supply for your want; that there may be equality."

From her study of Christian Science, the property owner had learned that God always meets every human need. We don't need to tell God what to do or how to do it. But when we acknowledge Him as the source of life and intelligence and willingly obey His laws, we see that He does supply our needs.

Continuing her study and prayer, the woman turned to a passage in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. Here she read: ``Think less of material conditions and more of spiritual." Although the sentence was not written specifically about her rental problem, she recognized a useful parallel immediately. She had been so immersed in the material condition of her property that she had been neglecting to see it from a spiritual standpo int--neglecting to pray.

Turning with gratitude to God, she earnestly prayed for an increased awareness of His ever-presence and infinite love for His spiritual creation. She knew that God supplies His children with everything good and needful. Moreover, she was certain that every spiritual idea fulfills the purpose for which God created it.

So where did the material building of brick, wood, electrical conduits, and plaster fit into the picture? Was that an idea of God? Oh, He gives us so much more! Gradually it became clear to her that to the extent she perceived the perfection and purpose inherent in the spiritual idea of a dwelling place, to that extent would the rental property fulfill its purpose. Of course, her efforts to upgrade the property and make it more attractive were necessary and commendable. But the qualities inherent in a ho me, such as security, peace, order, love, beauty, are spiritual and originate in divine Mind, God. They need no refurbishing. Furthermore, they provide the only real attraction.

As she began to embrace the property's spiritual qualities, the financial worry disappeared. She saw that turning to God ``always causeth us to triumph in Christ," as the Bible says. In short order the property was leased to a delighted tenant.

With joy she looked back and realized her burdens were eased, her abundance had supplied another's wants, and the needs of both were equalized.