Things looked bad all over the country. Crops had failed and famine gnawed the land. Desperate to find food for their family, a man and his wife trekked to a foreign land, one whose people held a different faith, practiced an unfamiliar culture, and had even occasionally made war against their nation.
Today’s news is filled with such stories. Millions of refugees, fleeing poverty and war, risk and sometimes lose their lives trying to reach countries where they hope to find safety and opportunity.
People in target nations worry about how to respond. Will the desperate and destitute drain their country’s resources? Will these strangers adapt to their culture, or will they introduce ideas and practices inimical to it? What if criminals or terrorists are sneaking in disguised as honest refugees? Is it moral to refuse some people entry?
These concerns have likely been with us for thousands of years, but it seems that the Moabites, with whom Elimelech and his family (the family referred to in the opening paragraph) sought refuge, accepted these strangers (see book of Ruth). Eventually Elimelech’s sons even married into their community. Much later, after Elimelech and his sons had died, the Moabites’ hospitality was repaid when Ruth, the Moabite widow of one of the sons, accompanied her mother-in-law Naomi on her journey back home to Bethlehem. Ruth would eventually marry Elimelech’s wealthy kinsman Boaz. Naomi’s neighbors welcomed this foreigner, praising Ruth as “better to thee [Naomi] than seven sons.” Ruth and Boaz’s son Obed would be the grandfather of David, ancestor of Joseph, the Virgin Mary’s husband (see Matthew 1). And after Jesus’ birth centuries later, Joseph’s young family in turn became refugees, moving to Egypt at God’s direction to escape Herod’s wrath (see Matthew 2:13, 14).
I began to think of the value of expanding my thinking to recognize God’s limitless supply of spiritual ideas for all His children.
Until mankind understands that “one infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself;’ …” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 340), people like Elimelech and his family may continue to flee oppression and want. What can be done to help them? How can the nations they flee to offer them shelter while still protecting their own citizens and conserving resources for themselves?
The New Testament describes a spiritual response to great need in the account of Jesus’ feeding of thousands who followed him into a desolate environment (see Matthew 14:15–21). Where his disciples wanted to turn the people away because they didn’t see how they could be cared for, Jesus saw an opportunity to demonstrate God’s abundance. By first thanking God for providing for everyone, Jesus was able to feed the entire crowd with the very small amount of bread and fish that was at hand. Not only were the throng of followers blessed, but everyone who has ever taken heart from this story has benefited by this proof of God’s inexhaustible supply.
Jesus’ perception of divine Love’s infinite resources prompted his promise: “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). The spiritual laws underlying his statement are applicable to any situation where there’s a need. I have seen many proofs that this promise is real.
About 20 years ago, a cultural organization I belonged to offered to host members of a similar group from another country. So many people from this group wanted to visit that we were scrambling to find hosts. To add to the confusion, the visitors never told us how many of them would be coming. They gave only vague replies to our increasingly anxious inquiries.
I had been praying with Jesus’ promise of mansions, and felt sure that it applied to our need.
A few days before our guests arrived, I had an interesting dream in which I welcomed a very large number of people into my home, and my house actually began to expand. Well, that was just a dream, but when I prayed the next day, I began to think of the value of expanding my thinking to recognize God’s limitless supply of spiritual ideas for all His children. So, in prayer, I did just that. I expanded my “house,” my consciousness, beyond a sense of material limitation to recognize God’s infinite provision. Sure enough, when our guests arrived, we had more than enough hosts. There were even friendly discussions among our members over who would have the privilege of accommodating our visitors.
While our experience was small, it illustrates the infinite ability of prayer, based on the unlimited provision of divine Principle, to open our thought to a demonstration of adequate supply. Our Father’s house does not include hovels, tent cities, cheap motels, or shipping containers, but palaces—places of abundant goodness. In God’s infinite, omnipresent “house,” no one can ever be displaced, destitute, or homeless. This divine Principle applies equally to refugees and to citizens of the countries where they seek refuge.
God, Mind, is always present to guide both refugees and hosts to practical and just actions—actions that will bless everyone. Principle is Love, and it is always present to ensure that honesty and respect govern dealings between individuals and governments. Love is always present to eliminate the possibility of conflict, and assure both hosts and refugees that they will be treated compassionately. Spirit being the source of all good, no one need fear that spiritual resources can be exhausted.
Citizens of today’s host nations can find encouragement in this counsel from the writer of Hebrews: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2, Revised Standard Version). Who can say how far prayer, and kindness to those needing shelter and succor, may go toward meeting today’s practical needs and realizing the kingdom of heaven, universal harmony, on earth?
