"O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace 'be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong." A beautiful assurance of God's love for man is contained in these words from Daniel (10:19). Let no one doubt that he is "greatly beloved." Here the word strong could also be rendered courageous or established and indicates the confidence inspired by the assurance of God's love.
An additional assurance of this love is found in the verses from the first epistle of John which our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, ordained should be read at the end of every Sunday service in the Churches of Christ, Scientist. The passage begins (I John 3:1), "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." May we not consider with gratitude the immeasurable love of our heavenly Father and ponder what it really means to be called a son of God?
Have we not all seen a child run to his father or mother for protection, assurance, and love? How much more does our ever-present Father-Mother God comfort, protect, and love His sons. Man, the image and likeness of God, reflects health, harmony, intelligence, dominion. This verse and the subsequent ones from John's epistle can take on fresh meaning each time we hear them read, for we may glimpse, through our understanding of Christian Science, new aspects of the blessings of sonship with God and of the all-inclusive nature of His love, which meets all our needs and heals sorrow, sickness, and sin.
