Article November 6, 1954 Issue

DIVINE DEMANDS

JOHN T. HECKEL

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commanded (Matt. 5:48), "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." This command requires that mankind learn to express the Godlike qualities of the real man. From a material point of view this demand would seem to have limited application in human experience. Christian Science exposes as false the suggestion that daily tasks are remote from spiritual endeavor. This erroneous belief gains credence only in mortal mind, which is ignorant of the divine omnipresence.

God being All, everything that really takes place must occur as the unfolding of infinite being. As this fact is apprehended, we see that our experience is not a series of unrelated events divided into material and spiritual activity. Neither is opportunity to reflect good restricted to certain occasions. Willingness to recognize our primary purpose to express Godlike qualities opens thought to the possibilities present in our daily pursuits to bear witness to the Divine Being.

Emphasizing the source of all true demands, Mary Baker Eddy writes in the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 184), "Truth, Life, and Love are the only legitimate and eternal demands on man, and they are spiritual lawgivers, enforcing obedience through divine statutes." Since man, as divine image, necessarily expresses spiritual perfection and completeness, it is apparent that nothing is required of him beyond that which he already includes and expresses as divine idea. The understanding of the natural capabilities of man as divine reflection removes from human consciousness the limiting beliefs of materiality and awakens thought to the dominion which may be claimed and demonstrated in daily living.

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