I am constantly learning in Science that unity is actually the collaboration of the ideas of God, which all being is truly in and of Him, divine Mind, seeing and expressing Itself.
Every Sunday, and hopefully every day, we pray in the Lord’s Prayer “Our Father which art in heaven”…. OUR Father… In Science and Health Mrs. Eddy gives us the spiritual meaning of this passage in the words “Our Father-Mother God – all harmonious”. The divine parent of everybody. Could it be that the idea presented in this phrase is the key to staying constantly connected with God and with each other throughout life?
As we love each other more, expressing the qualities that make up our true being, we see our oneness with God come to the surface and have a demonstrable effect in our lives. But we can’t stop there. If we are to do good simply to have it in return then it will be said of us that indeed we loved little. Christ Jesus said that we must love the way that he loved and gave this as the “new commandment”.
Before he gave us this commandment a lawyer asked him, “Master, what can I do to inherit eternal life?” He answered the man by going over the commandments of Moses. The man said that he had done this and still felt he lacked something. So, again he petitions Jesus, “these I have done,” he says, “what lack I yet?” Jesus, always letting the Mind of Christ work in him, says to the man, “Sell all you have and follow me.” Now, selling all of his possessions may have been a step in the right direction but it seems to me that true humility comes through selfless love, not selling material possessions. Even though this would be a great sacrafice, it doesn’t bring us to the point of loving spiritually.
In the light of Christian Science we can look beyond the mortal sense of things and see that, though he may have been asked to give up much materially, Jesus was really asking him to follow him in thought and in deed, telling him to learn to love the way he did. Loving without thought of his possessions, his family, his beliefs, and his life. Paul speaks of this love in his letter to the Corinthians when he says that if he has the faith to move mountains, if he sells all he has and gives it to the poor, or if he understands all the mysteries of God, or even is burned at the stake, and has no love, he is nothing. To me, this love he is talking about is a loving the way that God loves.
There are many words used for this kind of Christian love, my favorite one is grace. Grace is defined by some as divine influence in the heart, reflected in the life, or letting God work through us, through our hearts and minds for the benefit of others.
Our Master loved selflessly, without thought of what he would get in return. He showed the world the true meaning of divinity embracing humanity, that spiritual link that connects all of us to each other, and shows us our unity with God, with good, constantly, infinitely, and eternally.
I see this as a crucial point in His ministry. Such sayings as “I and my Father are one”, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”, and in praying to the Father about his followers said “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” John 17:21
This shows us that as we see our oneness with God, we will also see it with each other. Can you imagine a world where people measure the good in their lives, their treasure, by how they treat other people, by how they love? Can you see the peace that the grace of God brings? I hope so, cause it is here, right now. Close your eyes for a moment and try to see this truth right here, right now… hope you got a better view.
Another thing Jesus said was “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” AT HAND! Here! NOW!! With us! To prove through right thinking, acting, and living. As we each get our personnal sense of self out of the way and let divine Mind shine through, we shall see that we are not all trying to make our individual mind’s think like God’s Mind, or to get different minds to think like us, or to have others convert to something that they are not, or even to change ourselves into something we are not, but what we will see, through Mind, is that we are all expressing the thinking of the one Mind. Divine Mind. The Mind of Christ. It is here, now. It is not far off or waiting to reveal itself. All that needs to be done is for us to accept it, and live it.
There is a quote in the “We new Mary Baker Eddy” series by Sue Harper Mims that speaks to me of the way to live in this Mind. This student speaks of a time, while in class instruction, that Mrs. Eddy asks the students just what is the best way to do instantaneous healing? Some answer, “Realize the ever-presence of good”, others say, “Deny the claims of evil”, and so on. After they quite down she answers them with the statement, which, to me, brings out the essential unity of God and man…. She says to love. She says, “I will tell you how to do it. It is to love! Just live love – be it – love, love, love. Do not know anything but Love. Be all love. There is nothing else. That will do the work. It will heal everything, it will raise the dead. BE nothing but love.”
This speaks to me of the unity that Jesus referred to when he said, “I give you a new commandment; Love each other the way that I have loved you.”
This command of our Lord brings to light the only way that we can truly follow him. Are we willing to love in this way? Are we willing to forsake all that we know for a higher understanding of the Christ and Christian Science? Are we willing to be comforted? Individually? Globally? Universally?” I know I am. I hope you are too. Science demands on us nothing that we cannot do. I see it as more of a question of will we do.
Are we really ready to “sell of we have and follow Him, in our thinking, in our talking, in our acting? At home, at work, at school, and at church? Are we willing to humble ourselves so much that it really is God speaking, acting, and working through us. Or are we to caught up in the fact that we need to do the work ourselves?
It is a constant battle for me to see through divine revelation to what is really going on in my experience, but when I do, it enables me to love the way our Master and Leader clearly point out. And it heals… “The way is strait and narrow and there are few that go in thereat.” Lets be those few. Lets live that love, here, now, together. This will unite our church, it will unite our community, it will unite our country, and it will unite our world. And I think that is a great start!
