Looking for a good investment?

You have a sure source of supply. Invest in it!

By Judith H. Hedrick

Many years ago, after I had invested in a real estate partnership for an office building, a crucial neighborhood business went bankrupt. For another year or so there was hope that a new business would move in and the neighborhood would revive, but it never happened. The tenants began to move out of the building I had invested in, no new tenants moved in, and my entire investment was lost.

But I had been making another investment—I was learning to lean on God. I remained confident that He who had given all good in the first place would continue to give infinite good. I began to see that good isn't something that I could save or lose. It is spiritual. It is always here, unchanged and unchanging. And so it was. I found that my needs were met one by one as they arose. I experienced no hardship or lack and had no sense of loss. I actually gained from the experience—I now have a clearer sense of the presence of God's love, tender care, and provision.

Today a large percentage of the population use investments to increase their financial security. But simply relying on the stock market or even government bonds as a source of good reminds me a little of standing on sand. When I visit the ocean, I like to stand on the sand with the waves washing over my feet. As the water moves in and out, I can feel the sand shifting out from under my feet. While this is fun to do, it's obvious that sand isn't a good foundation.

We all want a secure and stable foundation in our lives. We want to be wise in financial matters. I have found that the most reliable basis for stability, including financial stability, is to follow the teaching of Christ Jesus.

Jesus did not look to material things as a means of obtaining and retaining real good. He had one stable foundation for life—God, Truth, Spirit. At the end of his Sermon on the Mount, he said, "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock" (Matt. 7:24, 25).

The teachings of Jesus are still the bedrock for understanding the "how and why" of our God-given supply. Personal ability, education, rich relatives, the stock market, even money in the bank are not the true source of good. God, Spirit, is the source and substance of good. Divine Love pours forth goodness and love upon man. As the image of God, man reflects the glory and goodness of God.

Apparently Mary Baker Eddy told one of her students, Sue Harper Mims, about her concept of God's endless provision. Mims reports the conversation: "'When first establishing this Cause,' I recall her saying, 'I needed money, but I have now learned that God is with me, that He gives me everything, and I cannot lack.' A little later she added, as I recollect, 'When you stand before a mirror and look at your reflection, it is the same as the original. Now you are God's reflection. If His hands are full, your hands are full, if you image Him. You cannot know lack. I have learned now that He does give us everything'" (We Knew Mary Baker Eddy, p. 134).

God's hands are full, so our hands are full.

God's hands are full, so our hands are full. And God's man is more than a receiver of good. Since he reflects God, he reflects His giving by always being able to give. As we reflect the divine nature, we will have the joy of doing good, the unselfish affection, the confidence in God, and the spiritual satisfaction that are true wealth.

Good doesn't spring from matter; it flows from the infinitude and permanence of God. It cannot be increased by a robust economy for it is already infinite. It cannot be destroyed by economic upheavals, fear, or greed for it is spiritual and eternal. As we invest in learning to understand God, infinite good, we will find good to be in infinite supply.

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