Centuries ago the Psalmist vowed (Ps. 101:2), "I will walk within my house with a perfect heart." A young Christian Scientist about to be married made the same vow.
But what, one might ask, is a perfect heart? Surely it does not mean merely one which is physically sound. It must, and does, have a higher, a more spiritual connotation. This particular student of Christian Science found a satisfying answer in the Master's reply to the scribe who asked him which was the first of all the commandments. "The Lord our God is one Lord," said the Master, adding: "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Mark 12:29–31).
As she reflected upon these words, she saw that her primary duty as a wife and homemaker would be to love God supremely, with a heart wherein love and reverence for Him must always have first place. In so doing she could not help expressing to her companion that love which is the reflection of Love. Not only must she reflect Love herself, she reasoned, but she must continually look for and expect to find it reflected by her life companion. For it is a demonstrable fact that we cannot claim our own unity with God while we are believing that another, be it husband, wife, friend, or neighbor, is separated from Him. No one is shut out from the kingdom of heaven. Here all walk with a perfect heart by reason of their true selfhood, their indestructible identity as the sons and daughters of God.
