When Jesus was twelve years of age, he accompanied his parents to Jerusalem to attend the feast of the Passover. On their homeward journey his parents discovered his absence and returned to Jerusalem, where they found him in the temple conversing with the doctors and asking them questions. To his mother's inquiry as to why he had thus dealt with them, the child replied (Luke 2:49), "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?"
In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," under the marginal heading "Master's business," Mary Baker Eddy writes (p. 52), "From early boyhood he was about his 'Father's business.'" Jesus knew that his real business was to manifest the Christ, Truth. The Godlike qualities of purity, graciousness, and compassion which he reflected, cleansed and regenerated the thoughts of those with whom he mingled. His spiritual-mindedness healed the sick, destroyed sin, comforted the sorrowing, and raised the dead. His mission was an unselfed service of love.
Christian Science teaches that man, expressing God's being, is ever about his Father's business, because he ceaselessly bears witness to Truth and Love. He loves and glorifies God, good, and is obedient to His will. As Mind's idea, he is endowed with perfection, intelligence, wisdom, perception, and spirituality. His real business is expressing right ideas, such as integrity, justice, unselfishness, confidence, and virtue. A realization of these facts enables us to rise above the false, material sense of discord, ignorance, discouragement, limitation, or incapacity. Reflecting spiritual qualities, we become more patient towards human frailties and increase our God-given ability to render to our fellow man true service, which a dictionary defines as "spiritual serving as shown by obedience, good works, and love."
