“If we are ever in a jam, He preserves us!”
Application Ideas for the “God the Preserver of Man” Lesson for June 7-13, 2004
by Corde Hanzlik, C.S. of Austin, TX
God bless, preserve, every Second Reader with this week’s Lesson. The Bible names are wonderful. But, it is easy to feel blest as the Golden Text and Responsive Reading gush with comfort. In the GT we are assured of our safety as we are His beloved. But wow, the RR with the 91st Psalm really tells of His care. We are always in the secret place! We can never leave even if we think we have. Cared for, insolated and isolated from world belief, our own fears – He delivers us from those noisy pests! We don’t need to be afraid of anything, never snared. But, even if we seem to be, He is caring for us! His angels are everywhere, watching out for us, telling us what to do.
If there is no other message from this Lesson, let’s remember that God always cares for us. (Cares as in ‘love’ and cares as in ‘meet all needs’) We could say, “If we are ever in a jam, He preserves us”. It is a rather transparent Lesson so this will be a short Met.
Section 1 The Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
This section repeats the RR, except it broadens the definition of God and His power. He is All! Evil is nothing. We are always with Him and He with us. And His angels are omnipresent.
Section 2 The next sections expand with examples of God’s care for those who love and obey Him as the covenant states.
Get your Bible commentaries out and read the full story in II Chronicles. Get the good guys and the bad guys straight. Bad – both Athaliahs, Ahab, and that house. Good – Jehoshabeath, Joash, Jehoiada.
S&H It boils down to the balance of power – God has it all, evil has none. Think about the old fashion scale idea – what you put on the right side takes from the wrong. Today’s digital scales don’t give us the graphic image that Mrs. Eddy is conveying. (If you teach Sunday School, ot might be good to show the students this image.) We have one of our regular verses in this section, marker 10. We are hid in the panoply of Love. God preserves us.
Section 3 The clue here is “Always take care of God’s prophets!” God does. Aren’t we prophets like Jeremiah? Haven’t we gotten ourselves into ‘dungeon-like’ experiences? God is always present to get us out.
S&H What is it that liberates us from all captivity? Love!!! Our human rights’ platform is embraced by divinity! (m14) We must claim it. (m 15)
Section 4 But wait!, is it not only those who know God that He cares for? He loves everyone? What instruction does that give us? What keys are in the woman’s behavior? Obedience. Trust. Quietude. (she shut the door of world curiosity and limit)
S&H Love meets the need, again, and again, and again. It is according to His order. (m17)
Section 5 A different time, a different place, God is till preserving, but through Jesus’ example.
S&H Marker 21 tells us that now, too, healing is going on. Fear can’t stop us. Divine Mind is supreme over the human, of course. (m23) That marker has a lot of goodies in it. Our promise? As we lean, so are we sustained! (m25)
Section 6 If you ever have a bad day, read this part of Paul’s tales. It makes our difficulties seem trivial, even church work. Bottom line is marker 24. God always preserves us!
S&H We have our biblical proofs of God’s power. It’s our turn to utilize the grand laws of God as He has given us the authority and right to do. We are inseparable from God, our principal Principle Source. (m30)
