How dearly we may love our family and friends! And how very much, too, they may cherish us. But sometimes family and friends, while surely meaning well, may oppose our involvement or advancement in Christian Science. This resistance may take the form of not wanting us to join a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, not supporting our desire to enter the full-time public practice of this religion, or general apathy toward our ongoing discovery of how liberating this way of life can be. Is it possible to be free from this resistance and at the same time bless these loved ones? Yes.
Christian Science is based on the Bible, and its starting point is that God, good, is omniscient and supreme. This supreme intelligence, divine Mind, fills all space. Since Mind is infinite, it can't be opposed nor its purpose delayed. The Psalmist sums up the vital point of Mind's allness in these words: "Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite." Ps. 147:5.
Because Mind is infinite, man can't exist in addition to Him but exists, rather, as His own spiritual self-expression. Thus, although man is distinct from God, creator and offspring coexist as spiritual cause and effect. In this divine reality, man is God's image and likeness—not an independent mind and body unconnected to God, but actually the spiritual idea of God, reflecting His goodness, understanding, and innumerable other spiritual qualities.
