The Bible assures us that God created man in His image and likeness. Mankind, generally, has given little consideration to the thought of man as the image and likeness of God—of man as reflection. It has accepted material conditions as real, and has interpreted man as both material and spiritual; and it has falsely conceived a manlike God, whereas God created a Godlike man.
The attempt to visualize God by studying what the individual conceives himself to be has resulted in as many concepts of God as there are beliefs respecting individual identity. A dilemma results from this. Either there is more than one God or else, as is evident, mankind has never seen individual selfhood as it really is. If one chooses the first aspect of the dilemma, he abandons the foundation of all religious thought and faith based upon the plain teaching of the Bible that there is but one God. If he grasps the other side, in effect he destroys himself as he has conceived himself to be, and forces upon himself renewed search for his own identity.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, in the course of her elucidation of the revelation which had come to her in respect to the nature of God and His creation, says on pages 515 and 516 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," "Your mirrored reflection is your own image or likeness." Continuing, she says: "Now compare man before the mirror to his divine Principle, God. Call the mirror divine Science, and call man the reflection. Then note how true, according to Christian Science, is the reflection to its original. As the reflection of yourself appears in the mirror, so you, being spiritual, are the reflection of God."
Let us examine this mirror, this divine Science, and see something of its character. It was in the pages of the Bible that our Leader's spiritualized thought perceived the truth about God and His creation. It was while she was suffering from the effects of an accident, which had been pronounced fatal, that she turned to her Bible and, pondering the significance of the healing work of Jesus, suddenly found her spiritual sense illumined and her own healing consummated. Gratefully and joyously she continued her search of the Scriptures that she might more clearly apprehend the full import of the method of Jesus' healing ministry. Gradually the pages of the Book disclosed to her what had not before been clear to human vision—the true, spiritual language of the Word of God. So it came about in the fullness of time that she gave to the world her great textbook, wherein can be found the complete and final revelation of God and His universe, including man. Mrs. Eddy has told us that we may look in this revelation of divine Science as in a mirror, and therein see God's reflection, that is, His image and likeness, man. The source of this mirror bespeaks its perfection. There is no concavity, convexity, or other peculiarity in this mirror to effect a distorted or incorrect reflection, for its perfection is determined by God as Principle.
Mrs. Eddy expresses the finality of her revelation when she says on page 110 of her textbook: "No human pen nor tongue taught me the Science contained in this book, Science and Health; and neither tongue nor pen can overthrow it. This book may be distorted by shallow criticism or by careless or malicious students, and its ideas may be temporarily abused and misrepresented; but the Science and truth therein will forever remain to be discerned and demonstrated." Between the covers of this book, in expression intelligible to everyone, simply, patiently, analytically, and fully Mrs. Eddy has given us the full revelation of God.
Having this mirror, this divine Science, revealing man as the image and likeness of God, we ask, What is its practical use? Here, for example, is one who entertains the solid conviction that he is material or physical, and that he suffers and enjoys because of his supposed materiality. He has begun to wonder if what he appears to be can possibly be the image and likeness of God, the man God blessed and gave dominion over the works of His hands. Let him peer earnestly into the mirror of divine Science; what does he see? The first thing, probably, that impresses itself upon his consciousness is that God, the creator, is Spirit; and from this rapidly follows the vision that since God is the only creator, His creation, man, the only man He created, is of necessity spiritual. He begins to grasp the fact that God's man cannot consist of blood and bones and flesh, and that to find himself as he really is he must look to Spirit and spiritual truth. He begins to see Spirit's reflection, or spiritual man.
If he continues his scrutiny of the mirror, he will discover that God is Truth. The reflection of God expresses God, and consequently man, as God's image and likeness, expresses Him truthfully. Seeing this, the student understands that what has been presenting itself to him as a poor, sick, miserable man must be a lie, an illusion, a dream, having no power either to harm or to bless. He sees that God can know no such man, because he is not within the realm of Truth. The reflection of God, Truth, is the only true man. As the student ponders this spiritual, true man, he is humbled; and as he contemplates the glory of divine reflection, he recalls the words heard by Jesus at his baptism, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Perhaps the particular phase of material existence which seems paramount to the seeker is his seeming failure to succeed in business. As such a one looks into the mirror of divine Science, he sees that God is Mind, the only intelligence of the universe; that the activity of this Mind is the only real activity; that this Mind is omniscient and, consequently, is never at a loss for the proper direction of its activity. He learns that the ceaseless, untiring activity of Mind is the only business there is, and that it is conducted through the reflected intelligent activity of man, created in the image and likeness of God, Mind. He sees that such business must ever be wise, accurate, successful, blessed and blessing, and therefore joyous. He sees that individual interests can never conflict, for each idea is a manifestation of God; and individual interests can therefore never be antagonistic, selfish, or destructive. The activity, the business, of God's man is always actuated by love. In the allness of God is the abundance, the substance, of Spirit, which can never diminish; and spiritual man, expressing the activity of Mind, can never be without that divine substance. There is never too much or too little of anything essential to the fullest expression of God's business. In Jesus' parable, the father said to his elder son who resented the welcoming of the prodigal, "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine." The heavenly Father has given his sons freely and without stint, and yet the fountain of this abundance is never depleted.
Perhaps one is gloomy, sad, morose; he sees neither the birds nor the flowers, and he hears neither song nor laughter. Let this sorrowing one gaze into the mirror of Christian Science. In it he will see God as Love, ever present, ever loving, ever compassionate, the source of all true joy. He will see that "Love is impartial and universal in its adaptation and bestowals" (Science and Health, p. 13). He will see Love as expressing itself in man, in God's image and likeness. He will see this perfect man as ever loving and true, kindly and generous, sympathetic and compassionate. He will begin to comprehend that what had been appearing to him as a gloomy, unloving, and unloved man was not man, but only an illusion. He will feel the inspiration of Love warming his heart, and find himself looking out as if upon a new world, full of beauty and gladness.
These are illustrations of the wonder-working possibilities of contemplating the mirror of divine Science. What a precious gift it is! How we should treasure and utilize it! How we should strive to obey every rule and precept its Discoverer has given us in her writings for keeping our understanding of it pure and undefiled! We do not need extraneous helps in order to improve our ability to see this reflection of God which she has so lovingly pointed out to us.
Constant use of the mirror of divine Science serves to make God's reflection and the inherent beauty of spiritual man distinct and real to us. We can have constant recourse to this mirror, and whenever mortal mind whispers that we are not well, strong, successful, upright, intelligent, loving, joyous, we may therein ponder God's reflection, His image and likeness—ourselves as we really are. Humility and true self-respect will surely follow such study, humility in the knowledge that God is All-in-all, and self-respect in the knowledge that man is what he is—God's reflection—because God is what He is— the creator of all that really exists.
