"The prominent laws which forward birth in the divine order of Science, are these: 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me;' 'Love thy neighbor as thyself,'" writes Mary Baker Eddy, under the title of "The New Birth" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 18). She then amplifies her meaning in these words: "These commands of infinite wisdom, translated into the new tongue, their spiritual meaning, signify: Thou shalt love Spirit only, not its opposite, in every God-quality, even in substance; thou shalt recognize thyself as God's spiritual child only, and the true man and true woman, the all-harmonious 'male and female,' as of spiritual origin, God's reflection,—thus as children of one common Parent,—wherein and whereby Father, Mother, and child are the divine Principle and divine idea, even the divine 'Us'—one in good, and good in One."
The steps leading to the attainment of "the divine order of Science," this new and spiritual birth which reveals perfect God and perfect man, "the divine 'Us,'" are thus set before the student. They demand complete consecration of thought, motive, and endeavor: thought held unswervingly to divine Principle, motive and endeavor inspired by obedience to divine direction. Christ Jesus exemplified the attainment of this divine order and showed it to be the purpose of life, the real goal of existence.
Each one must prove man's spiritual origin by deeds as well as by words. Jesus' example calls for a radical change in individual consciousness, even an acceptance of Life as God, as cause, and of creation as the offspring of this divine cause. The acceptance of spiritual origin unfolds to the student his unity with God as Father-Mother and his own part in expressing this unity, namely "the divine 'Us.'"
