We will all admit that nothing worthwhile takes place in society unless inspired by some individual. Every progressive step, every constructive effort, every original idea, plan, and execution depends upon the thinking and the actions of individuals. Yet this fact is often lost sight of because of the growing numbers of individuals and because of the many "little people" who seem to have no voice, no identity, no grand purpose.
Christian Science alerts us to reject this fallacy and to make a strong plea for individual expression, for each one's place and necessity. And the starting point is with our daily identification work.
When we stop to consider how God speaks to humanity, how He does this through individuals, we can begin to grasp some sense of the infinite nature of individuality and the importance of right identification. It took an Abraham, a Moses, an Isaiah, a Christ Jesus, to tell mankind what God was telling them. Society has been greatly blessed by those utterances. But they all stemmed from God. We would not have the Science of Christ today had not Mary Baker Eddy listened to what God was telling her. She in turn shared it with humanity through her own unique expression of spiritual individuality—her own individual expression of God's infinite nature.
The ideas that have come to us through the revelation that came to others are not limited. God's ideas are not counted in hundreds or thousands, or even millions. They are without number. They are endless. As these ideas have become operative in human experience, they have had practicality for mankind. These ideas, conceived in divine Mind, often revolutionary in their effect, have not dwarfed the individual who uttered them. They have reemphasized his value.
Then it is possible for all of us—each one—to elevate purpose, to enlarge our contribution, to improve our skills and perfect our talents. How? By identifying ourselves to ourselves as God's image and likeness, by consistently, day by day, using the resources of prayer to affirm our coexistence with the Divine. In this way each one of us can improve his lot.
Members of The Mother Church have agreed to commune with the creator daily. Membership implies the promise to be obedient to Mrs. Eddy's provision in the Manual of The Mother Church, "Alertness to Duty," which begins, "It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion, and not be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God, to his Leader, and to mankind." Man.,Art. VIII, Sect. 6;
Our duty to God is fulfilled in part during the period of prayer spent with Him daily. Its purpose can be seen as twofold. On the one hand, to affirm our identity, to claim our individuality as the reflection, expression, emanation, and manifestation of the infinite, coexistent with and totally dependent upon the eternal. On the other hand, to defend ourselves against the aggressive mental suggestions that would insist that we are mortal, that we are human personalities, limited, frustrated, unworthy, unqualified; that we are young and inexperienced or old and incapacitated; that we are deprived by race, sex, lack of education, or hampered by an unfortunate marriage or an environment without opportunity.
The negative suggestions may seem endless, but they are never beyond elimination. Our success depends upon the sincerity of our prayers and the degree to which we live them.
How important is prayer to you? How much time do you take for it? Is it a chore to be quickly passed over? Or is it a time of quiet knowing, tremendous inspiration, new insights into man's dignity, worth, and value?
The writer of Psalms knew the import of such prayer: "Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.... Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.... Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness." Ps. 143: 1, 8, 10;
To identify yourself to yourself as the expression of God's being is the most important work you do each day. Of course, it does not stop there. The truths we affirm have to be lived. But how can they be lived if they are not claimed? How can they be lived if they are not affirmed? How can they be lived if they are not understood?
The realization of our individuality depends upon the thoroughness of this work. Our time for prayer should be a time of new discoveries. We should be learning more about ourselves because of what we are learning about God. We should jealously guard this time, allow nothing to interfere with it, anticipate its fulfillment with joy and expectation. Our very life depends upon it, for in this time of communion we are realizing that God is our Life. Our safety and health depend upon it, for as we pray and listen we can realize the complete protection that the armor of Love provides. We can learn how protected is our innocency. We can gain strength and courage by knowing that God is the only power, that nothing truly exists that is not dependent upon Him. During this time of prayer-filled quiet we discover that our health is not an exception but an established fact, related to the harmony of God's universe, maintained by the government of divine Mind.
Identification work is holy work. It need not surprise us that personal sense and carnal-mindedness will resist it. They will raise all kinds of excuses why other things are more important: we haven't the time; no good will come of it; we have nothing to show for our efforts; our situation is so hopeless that nothing can improve it; we are not good enough; God will not hear us; everything is going so smoothly—why should we be bothered?
We have heard these excuses before. Sometimes we have heeded them. But the discovery of our true identity depends upon our being more diligent in recognizing these age-old arguments as nothing but mortal beliefs without a cause, tradition without a purpose, superstition without authority.
We should look to God to discover what our individuality really is, and we should consistently develop more than a nodding acquaintance with Him. In fact, a drowsy approach to this sacred hour is time wasted. We should be on speaking terms with Him, and we should listen. We should cherish our time with the Father as the most precious moments of each day. As we expand our understanding of Him, we enlarge our awareness of our true selfhood, and the realization of our spiritual individuality takes place.
Through learning that individuality is to be found only in God and is to be expressed by His creation, the unfoldment of what we are and who we are, why we are and where we are, becomes clear to us. Then we can answer those questions according to the truths found in the Bible and in the Christian Science textbook.
Who am I? I am an individual spiritual consciousness.
What am I? I am the image and likeness of God, a spiritual idea, an expression of the infinite, the reflection of God's being.
Where am I? I am right here in God's universe, never outside His presence, control, or influence. Because I am God-centered, I am always in my right place.
Why am I? I exist to fulfill God's will, to bear witness to what He is, to glorify Him, to manifest His qualities.
When am I? I exist at this moment, right now, always, in eternity, neither past nor future, but in the eternal now.
Confirmation of this is found in the writings of Mrs. Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. She tells us in the textbook: "Spirit diversifies, classifies, and individualizes all thoughts, which are as eternal as the Mind conceiving them; but the intelligence, existence, and continuity of all individuality remain in God, who is the divinely creative Principle thereof." Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 513.
