"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" It is possible that many may have interpreted David's question as relating to mortal man. They may have believed that the Lord God, to whom his question was addressed, was directly or indirectly responsible for mortal man's existence. However, there can be no doubt about the meaning of the words written by Mary Baker Eddy in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 475): "Man is not matter; he is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material elements. The Scriptures inform us that man is made in the image and likeness of God. Matter is not that likeness. The likeness of Spirit cannot be so unlike Spirit. Man is spiritual and perfect; and because he is spiritual and perfect, he must be so understood in Christian Science."
Man, then, is not material. He is not even partly material and partly spiritual. He is not a physical organism with a mind, spirit, or soul inside of it. Man is entirely spiritual. He exists as consciousness—the conscious reflection or expression of Mind. Man consists of ideas, not organs; spiritual thoughts, not material things. He is the exact image of God, Spirit, Mind, and because a true image is exactly like its original, man —the image of God—must be and is exactly like his creator. Therefore, man is in all respects the perfect representation or expression of divine Mind. He expresses perfectly the divine nature. That is his reason for existing.
Man, the likeness of God, reflects the divine qualities of Mind, Spirit, Soul. He therefore expresses the qualities of spirituality, eternality, individuality, indestructibility, perfection, completeness, glory, beauty, health, harmony, freedom, and dominion.
