Article September 18, 1909 Issue

THE TRUE REFLECTION

IDA L. BAKER

In the Bible we read, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." For years I had been trying to fathom the meaning of this marvelous teaching. I believed that the in divine command was infolded the secret of all true living, of all freedom and bliss; but not until I began the study of the Christian Science text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, did I perceive any tangible reason why one should love his neighbor as himself, or seek his own in another good.

The revelation in Christian Science that "man reflects infinity, and this reflection is the true idea of God" (Science and Health, p. 258), removes thought from self to God, and sets one free to become a partaker of the good reflected by each one of His ideas in the universe of Spirit. Under the light of this truth. the veil of material self and of sense begins to lift, giving glimpses of that life which "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard," and we perceive with a feeling of awe and rapture that every living thing has a message for us,—something distinct and individual from the one infinite Mind,—and that we are standing upon the threshold of an endless unfolding,—Life understood as God, good.

The psalmist writes, "All thy works shall praise thee." Love is reflected to us in the realm of nature from every leaf and flower; in the marvelous outlines and in the wondrous colors seen in nature, we behold symbols of the handiwork of the creator. Our revered Leader says, "Arctic regions, sunny tropics, giant hills, ... all point to Mind, the spiritual intelligence they reflect" (Science and Health, p. 240). The artist presents on canvas his interpretation of life, and thus enriches mankind with his conception of infinity, immortality, reality; the musician, with heart attuned to harmony, discerning somewhat of "the rhythm of Spirit" (Ibid., p. 510), suggests to us mental melodies as from the spiritual realm of the real. Christian Science teaches us that in the degree in which the Christ-idea is discerned in all things, are we truly ready to love our neighbors as ourselves, ready to enter into our inheritance as "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ"—partakers of the divine nature in all things.

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