Mankind need the comforting assurance of the impartiality of divine Love. The belief that either nature or circumstance can deprive some individuals or nations of things which are needful, but which others have in abundance, has been a source of rebellion and war during all periods in history.
From the material viewpoint it appears that good is limited and unequally divided; that if one gains, someone else must lose; that if one is preferred, another must be rejected. Spiritual perception reverses this belief and shows how all can avail themselves of divine Love's care and provision. Mary Baker Eddy makes this arresting statement in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 318): "Mine and thine are obsolete terms in absolute Christian Science, wherein and whereby the universal brotherhood of man is stated and demands to be demonstrated."
Christ Jesus exemplified universal brotherhood. When he fed the five thousand with only five loaves and two fishes, he proved that a blessing for one is a blessing for all. He knew that it is not limited matter, but infinite Spirit, which supplies the needs of men, and his certainty of the inexhaustible source of all good was made evident in more than enough food to feed the multitude.
No one is excluded from God's bounty. Multitudes of earnest seekers, through the study and application of Christian Science, are finding that the exact rules of Christian Science are enabling them to follow in the footsteps of our Master and to utilize the power of God to rid themselves of sickness, discord, and lack of every kind. They are proving true in daily experience Mrs. Eddy's comforting and assuring statement (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pp. 12, 13): "In divine Science, where prayers are mental, all may avail themselves of God as 'a very present help in trouble.' Love is impartial and universal in its adaptation and bestowals. It is the open fount which cries, 'Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.'"
Christian Science teaches that well-being, comfortable and gracious homes, and adequate supply naturally result from increased spiritual understanding, wherein the human concept of existence is exchanged for the divine and one gains an enlarged sense of good. This spiritual attitude is the kingdom of heaven. This way of thinking is demonstration or Immanuel, "God with us." A complete trust in God, good, removes the self-imposed restrictions of doubt and fear and opens our eyes to what God has already provided, to that which appears humanly as good health, harmonious family and business relations, progress, and an abundance of needful things. But the primary need is always for a greater understanding of God, the creative Principle, and of our own nature and character as His image and likeness.
Christ Jesus' parable of the prodigal son teaches the mistake of measuring one's progress by a material standard. It will be remembered that the father in the parable, typifying divine Love, which is always ready to restore that which seems lost, welcomed the return of the wandering penitent with joy and a great feast. This welcome offended the older brother, who believed that his own uninterrupted devotion to duty was slighted. The father lovingly corrected him with the reminder (Luke 15:31), "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine." Both sons had suffered from the belief that substance is material.
When humility awakens one to his total dependence on Spirit, he finds himself embraced in the impartiality of the divine fatherhood. The prodigal's own lack of spiritual understanding had robbed him, but in reality there had never been a moment when he was not the Father's son.
How many of us, during temporary lapses, typify one or the other mental state of these two brothers? Do we always remember that we are indeed the heir of all the Father has and rejoice in another's good as evidence of all-embracing, universal Love? Do accustomed blessings blind us to the perpetual wonder of God's undeviating affluence? Are we inclined to take for granted the riches in our Father's house which we have found through the paths explored and charted for us by the Master, Christ Jesus, and our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy? Do we sometimes separate ourselves from the primal source in order to seek the supposedly alluring adventures in the far country of egotistical, personal accomplishment?
In reality there can never be any separation between God and man, Father and son, divine Mind and image, Spirit and manifestation, Soul and reflection, Truth and expression, Principle and idea. There is never a lapse from spiritual completeness, harmony, and perfection. The seeming disruption of the divine order is induced by the acceptance of the false beliefs of a selfhood apart from God. These false beliefs emit a mist or mental confusion which obscures the changeless, radiant reality. One gets nowhere by fighting the mist; but one can raise his mental vision above it and attain the clear, true view.
Human strife over paternal blessings, division of family responsibilities, communal property, and national borders goes on today as in Bible times. Now, as then, the lesson to be learned is not so much how to evaluate and expedite human justice, desirable as this lesson may be, but how to arrive at the acceptance of the fact that divine Love is impartial and all-inclusive. Spiritual illumination wipes out the misunderstandings, the rancors and hatreds, which hold humanity in bondage. The following example shows how inadequate a human approach is in solving problems of relationship.
Over a period of many years a Christian Scientist had received bountiful proof of God's provision and care. Yet one day she made the mistake of forgetting that divine Love is the source of all good. Long before this individual was a student of Christian Science, she had been the main support of younger brothers and sisters. She had undertaken the obligation willingly and with no thought of reward, but as the years passed, she held a certain sense of pride in her achievement. Years later, when her finances seemed at a low ebb and the brothers and sisters were grown, the suggestion forcibly presented itself that none of them had ever expressed gratitude or even showed that they remembered her early labor of love.
Like the prodigal's brother, the Scientist forgot God's infinite promise, "Thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine," and she let in resentment and self-pity. However, she quickly recognized these danger signals and strove to overcome the mortal arguments. Searching the Bible for a healing message, she read (Isa. 45:5), "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me."
The Scientist saw clearly that it was not she, as a human relative, who had been the benefactor of her brothers and sisters, but God, divine Love, universal, impartial, and unfailing. She saw that God had indeed girded her, although she was not aware of it at the time. She was now able to rejoice, not from the standpoint of pride in personal achievement, as she had done in her youth, but from the standpoint of humble gratitude that, as the expression of God's love and activity, she had met the family's need. Her tranquillity was restored, God continued to meet her every need, and her relatives began to express love and appreciation.
To the one who addressed him as "Good Master," Christ Jesus said (Matt. 19:17), "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." Recognizing the allness and oneness of God, we gain comforting assurance and evidence of divine Love's impartial and universal spiritual gifts, which never fail to meet the human need.
