When Moses inquired as to the identity of the one who spoke from the burning bush, God said: "I AM THAT I AM: ... Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." These words, "I AM," may be regarded as a profound statement of the absolute and eternal allness of God, containing within their terseness the complete summation of all real being.
It is helpful to examine the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," and there read in the Glossary, on pages 588 and 591, some of Mrs. Eddy's definitions bearing on this thought. We find "I AM" explained, in part, as "the only Ego." Defining "Mind," she says, "The only I, or Us," and "the divine Principle, or God, of whom man is the full and perfect expression." Again she says (p. 588), "There is but one I, or Us, but one divine Principle, or Mind, governing all existence;" and adds, "All the objects of God's creation reflect one Mind, and whatever reflects not this one Mind, is false and erroneous." In the light of the above definitions, God's word to Moses, "I AM," is seen to establish the fact of one supreme, infinite Being, because of whom and in whom is all being. This leads us to the conclusion that all the various identities of creation, including man, exist because God exists, and that they are varied expressions of Him. Real identity, therefore, is Godlike, and for us to think of man as less than perfect, and perfectly provided for, is inconsistent and mesmeric, leading to all the ills to which in material belief flesh is heir.
Yet how prone we are to say, "I am so tired"; "I am ill"; "I am afraid"; "I can't"; or, "I haven't"!
