Editorial March 21, 1914 Issue

Family Ties

Annie M. Knott

In the epistle to the Ephesians we read of "the whole family in heaven and earth," a thought so comprehensive as to make one pause and compare it with the ordinary concept of family ties. In presenting this larger view of the family, St. Paul begins with "the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," or the idea of fatherhood offered to humanity by the great Teacher. It is true that the Hebrews were not ignorant of the divine fatherhood, for the psalmist speaks of the infinite One who pities His children in a way that as far transcends the human "as the heaven is high above the earth;" who removes their sins and transgressions, heals all their diseases, and crowns them with loving-kindness and tender mercy. Isaiah presents what Mrs. Eddy calls the "motherhood of Love" (Science and Health, p. 519), when he tells how God comforts His people, and the question is asked, "Can a woman forget her sucking child?" to which the answer comes, "Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee."

In spite of all this teaching, Christ Jesus said, "O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee." At every step of the way the Master gave proof that he knew God to be not alone his Father, but the Father of all and the very Life of all being. These proofs brought down to men the purity and power of the divine nature, and for this alone we owe Christ Jesus unending gratitude. The contemporaneous Greek and Roman concepts of divine fatherhood were at their best grossly sensual, with a crude sense of justice and power; and while no professed Christian would dream of entertaining them as models for conduct, it may be asked to what extent the earthly parent attempts to bring out in his human relations the ideal of fatherhood revealed by Christ Jesus. Happy indeed the child who first finds his way to God through the reflected goodness of an earthly parent, and who rests secure that God must be loving and just and pure because of what he sees manifested in his home. If any should think this too much to claim, we have but to listen to the inspired word: "Be ye holy; for I am holy."

It is soon discovered in Christian Science that the mortal concept of human relationships is a fruitful source of sorrow; indeed it is generally admitted that the greater the sense of affection, the greater the fear for the loved ones,—fear of sickness, of sin, and of death. Yet nothing could be so dreadful as the thought of a loveless existence, and nothing could be farther from the divine purpose as the Bible reveals it. If it is true that God is Love, then His children should all be loving, and the one important question is how we may become more so each day. If we consider the noblest characters presented in Holy Writ, we shall see that the most beautiful things in their lives were the purity and tenderness of their human affections, something wholly above the mere bonds of the flesh, "the accident of birth." This is wonderfully illustrated in the case of Jacob and his son Joseph. The passing of years seemed only to strengthen the tie. What a meeting that was between the prime minister of Egypt and his old shepherd father, after the long years of separation! Did not that rare friendship begin in pure spirituality, when Jacob taught his boy to know the God who had appeared to him at Bethel, and did not that teaching carry Joseph unsullied through all the trials and temptations of his unfolding manhood?

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