What is man's place? Is it not found in his oneness with the Father, in his inseparability from Mind, divine Love, the source of all good? Being at one with God, man can exist only in God. To demonstrate this truth is to see around one only the expression of God's spiritual qualities.
At one with God, man is under the perfect control of divine Mind. He receives the ideas of Mind in his consciousness, and these ideas are productive and useful. He can do nothing but what Mind unfolds, for as the reflection of Mind, he can reflect only Mind's action.
In this oneness with God, there is no room for the expression of any quality of mortal mind, the false mind which claims to counterfeit divine Mind. Mortal mind does not belong to man and is not and never has been any part of him. Therefore knowing nothing of mortal mind, man cannot see this mind expressed around him. All he can see is Mind's expression, whose nature emanates from changeless Love. Therefore man is always in a perfect place which satisfies him completely and in which he experiences only harmony.
When one thus understands man's relationship with God and clearly sees that he himself is not in reality a mortal but a spiritual idea of God, one will come to experience the evidence of this understanding in every phase of his daily life. Therefore it is extremely valuable for him to see clearly each day that he is in his right place, at one with God. The rewards from this right knowing can be endless.
When one understands his relationship to God, the employment which is best for him at the moment and which enables him to be of the best possible service to others will be evidenced. Jesus said (John 5:19, 20): "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel." When one understands these words, he can prove that God is directing all his efforts. His work will unfold effortlessly, express accuracy, bring satisfaction, and result in much good to others.
However, the clear knowing of what Mrs. Eddy means when she writes, "Principle and its idea, man, are coexistent and eternal" (Science and Health, p. 520), can result in far more fruitage in one's experience than that of having merely satisfactory employment. Human relationship problems can be solved. Most people enduring discord or friction in their affairs with others tend to believe that there are two mortal minds in the picture which by not agreeing are rubbing each other the wrong way and causing friction.
The understanding that God and man coexist and that man reflects only the qualities of God and knows only what God, the one Mind, knows removes from consciousness the belief that there are two mortal minds opposing each other. When one yields to the understanding of the presence of the divine Mind only and sees that what God, Mind, is unfolding to man are His loving, understanding qualities and ideas, the mortal beliefs which seemed to create the discord will be eradicated.
The individual then comes to see that the trouble did not exist between two people. It existed only in the individual's own belief of a mortal mind that thinks discord can exist and have power. When he sees he is at one with Love, he will find his consciousness filled only with love, and love is all he will experience. No longer can opposing mortal mind seem to exist. Either the unloving person will express love or he will not come into the experience of the individual who is praying to be at one with Love. In either case, the demonstration is the realization of one's inseparability from infinite Love.
Knowing that one is in his right place and that everything in this place is perfectly coordinated and under the control and guidance of Mind can result in the eradication of confusion from a home or a business. It can bring everything into its proper perspective when playing a game. It can give one the assurance of safety when driving a car or flying in a plane, for in reality one is always safe and unharmed.
One time I had doubts about my being in my right place. I found myself working for an individual who seemed to display all the characteristics of a tyrant, dominating his staff and generating fear in those not only below him but above him in authority. The atmosphere was always charged and therefore primed for an explosion, which came often.
This individual was always kind to me; but after seeing displays of temper toward others and after hearing so much hate and fear expressed, I decided that it was time I went to work in Christian Science.
I had no sooner begun to declare spiritual truths relative to the situation than the individual turned on me, and for the next two weeks I was mistreated and could do nothing that pleased him. The more I prayed, the worse the situation became. Then one day it came to me very clearly to stop trying to change the situation and to know that as an idea of God I was always in my right place, at one with Him.
Naturally I thought that I would be lifted out of that place, but that's not what happened. Instead, the individual began to leave me alone. Soon he was very cordial. I continued working to know that I was in my right place and to claim the spiritual qualities that existed in this place in God. The individual became kinder and kinder. The sense of fellowship, decency, uprightness, and kindness was expressed not only to me but to others who began to notice the change and to comment on it. The fear and the hatred expressed toward him began to abate. In a few months' time he resigned; but when the time came for him to leave, many sincerely regretted his going.
I learned much from this experience, the most important point being the value of knowing that man is in his God-appointed place.
Knowing the qualities of the place in which man exists is one way of working for the world. One's world is one's consciousness. When one sees that in God's kingdom all is peaceful, harmonious, and happy, one will not expect to encounter discord, unhealthy competition, destruction, fear, hate, or any other phenomenon of the carnal mind which this mind might attempt to use to intimidate men and to keep the world stirred up and in a state of confusion.
Man is always harmonious, existing at the standpoint of perfection and receiving all good from God. He rests in the realization of God's unceasing love for him, and he knows he dwells forever in the Father. As Mrs. Eddy writes (No and Yes, p. 26): "God holds man in the eternal bonds of Science,—in the immutable harmony of divine law. Man is a celestial; and in the spiritual universe he is forever individual and forever harmonious."
This spiritual universe is our right place. As you and I see this and understand that this is the only place we can ever be in, we can expect to see all the aspects of heaven unfold in our experience at every move, at every step in our journey Spiritward. And we can rejoice in the expectation and the experiencing of eternal harmony right where we seem to be now. For, actually, we can only be in our right place in God, and there we shall be forever.
