“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (I John 3:1, New King James Version). The concept of being God’s loved children is central to Christianity and to Christian Science in particular. It’s a healing concept one can turn to when faced with challenges of every sort. So what does it mean to be a child of God?
First, it means to be completely cared for, loved, and protected by our Father-Mother God, omnipotent Love. It means we each have a comforting, healing, restoring relationship with our divine Parent, whom Jesus endearingly called “my Father.”
The Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, supplies a clear explanation of the Comforter (divine Science), which Jesus said would “guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). And with the publishing of this earth-changing book came a clearer understanding of God as Mother as well as Father. One passage in it comfortingly tells us: “Father-Mother is the name for Deity, which indicates His tender relationship to His spiritual creation” (p. 332).
