Each of us has a potential for limitless expression of infinite Life. This potential seems hidden from us by the false belief that being is matter. And the mind of this belief, mortal mind, divides its living creation into males and females, who depend upon sex for the reproduction and continuity of life.
But what we see in nature as sexual attraction and sexual reproduction to perpetuate life is an inverted, material sense of the ever-appearing, self-revealing qualities of the one Mind, Spirit, God. The inspired writer of the first chapter of Genesis perceived the true creation in which male and female characterize the idea, or offspring, of infinite Spirit. He saw man as God's creation, made "in the image of God . . .; male and female created he them." Gen. 1:27; Christian Science teaches us to look in every instance beyond the materially natural to the spiritual, complete idea of the divine Mind. When we do, we discern the spiritual universe, where divine Principle, Love, not sexuality, is the Spirit that motivates, vitalizes, and perpetuates the true creation.
In the illusion of material creation, the male of the species usually dominates the female. But this sense of man is a counterfeit—a bad one—of the divine idea. Man in God's image is not divided into sexes. Each individual expression of the one Spirit, God, reflects God's father-motherhood. Mary Baker Eddy writes: "The life-giving quality of Mind is Spirit, not matter. The ideal man corresponds to creation, to intelligence, and to Truth. The ideal woman corresponds to Life and to Love." Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 517;
That God is both Father and Mother and that man, God's image, individually as well as collectively, reflects the male and female qualities is elemental in the revelation that came to Mrs. Eddy with her discovery of Christian Science. What she found was much more than that woman must rise up and demand her rights. Men and women must wake up to their complete identity as the man and woman of God's reflection. Each individual must learn, eventually, that the true male and female qualities are not properties of one sex or another, but spiritual elements of the whole individuality expressed throughout God's creation.
As we learn to discern the spiritual nature of man, the spiritual sense of vitality and attraction replaces the material in our concept of nature. And as we progress in replacing the false with the true, the so-called conflict between the sexes disappears, and the harmony of true manhood and womanhood appears. Mrs. Eddy says: "Woman is the highest species of man, and this word is the generic term for all women; but not one of all these individualities is an Eve or an Adam. They have none of them lost their harmonious state, in the economy of God's wisdom and government." Unity of Good, p. 51;
Christ Jesus illustrated the potential we have as we come to recognize the completeness of man. Born without a human father, his sense of life was not limited by the belief of man divided into sexes. He consciously reflected God's power to love, to forgive, and to heal. He was both intuitive and decisive in all his actions. To the man sick of the palsy he said, "Thy sins be forgiven thee," and he followed this declaration with the healing words, "Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house." Matt. 9:2, 6;
Each of us today is faced with a choice: whether or not to take part in the conflict between material belief and spiritual understanding. This is the conflict that will settle any question regarding our potential. If we choose to take part on the side of Truth, we will need to recognize more of our womanhood, whether we now think of ourselves as a man or as a woman. Mrs. Eddy says: "Materialistic hypotheses challenge metaphysics to meet in final combat. In this revolutionary period, like the shepherd-boy with his sling, woman goes forth to battle with Goliath." Science and Health, p. 268.
The man or woman who does not recognize his or her spiritual womanhood, reflecting divine Love, is not ready for this conflict. And his or her healing work will come to a point where progress can no longer be made. Advancement beyond the point of perfunctory treating to progressive demonstration of the power of Life and Love to heal and to maintain health, as well as to prove the timeless nature of being, demands the complete reflection of the Father-Mother God. "The highest species of man" must become evident in consciousness and action.
Neither men nor women today are yet realizing their true woman qualities. Were they doing so, we would see victories over materialism far more convincing than we do. But all of us can begin immediately to recognize the completeness of man in the Science of being by elevating our sense of woman. Men need to value women more, and women need to value themselves more —not as members of a sex but as reflections of the Father-Mother. But the attempt to make this upward revision will be futile unless it is based upon spiritual reality. And spiritual reality reveals the woman in what material sense calls a man as well as in what it calls a woman.
As we learn not only to appreciate the qualities of womanhood as qualities of "the highest species of man" but to cultivate and cherish these qualities in ourselves and others, we will discover the potential we need to solve our problems and those of mankind. Mankind's problems all stem from materialistic hypotheses. As we recognize the woman of God's creating, we will realize the potential of our distinct manhood or womanhood. We will complete our concept of ourselves. And the complete concept, man and woman realized, will heal the sick, harmonize human relationships, end crime, overcome lack, bring peace to the world—demonstrations of reality on the way to our full potential as God's spiritual ideas.
