Editorial August 26, 1916 Issue

Fatherhood and Motherhood

Annie M. Knott

THOSE unacquainted with Mrs. Eddy's teachings are sometimes puzzled, if not disturbed, because of her distinct teaching that God should be regarded not only as Father but also as Mother ; yet the Scriptures distinctly present the quality of motherhood as an essential element of the divine nature. The first chapter of Genesis shows that the divine nature finds complete expression in the masculine and feminine qualities. In the prophecy of Isaiah the question is asked whether a mother can forget her infant child, and the answer comes from the divine side, "Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee." Here we have infinite tenderness contrasted with mortal frailty and selfishness, yet in this very rebuke we have a perfect model for our human relationships, and as we gain an enlarged sense of the divine nature, the spiritual sense of the Lord's Prayer as given on page 16 of Science and Health dawns upon us, and we address our heavenly Father as "Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious."

With its habitual short-sightedness mortal mind thinks of fatherhood and motherhood as represented by the material and physical nature, when this is far from being true ; indeed it is only as the metaphysical or spiritual concept of being is gained, that any human relation becomes truly harmonious. A great thinker of recent times referred to the mere "accident of birth," and this phrase is capable of quite extended application. The physical parent may and frequently does forsake his or her child, or, what is even more serious, may bring to the child a perverted sense of all things, a sense which wholly ignores the moral and spiritual. The one who fails in this latter respect is, from the viewpoint of Christian Science, no parent at all. On the other hand, the one who aids in the right development of a child's character, who awakens the consciousness of what true living means,—and how glorious are its possibilities,—he or she, in reflecting the divine nature, becomes in the truest sense both father and mother, although no physical relationship may exist.

Let no one suppose for a moment that Christian Science ignores the grave responsibilities and sacred obligations of the human parent. On the contrary, it arouses in all who seek to demonstrate its teachings, indeed in all who feel the healing influence of divine Truth, a quickened and ever-increasing sense of the demands of God's law ; but far from being irksome, this responsibility brings with it the real joy of living. As the law of Love is understood and obeyed, new opportunities to be and to do good present themselves, every one of which is an avenue to new joys. We, however, must guard with the utmost vigilance our spiritual treasures, for our Master, who never lost sight of the kingdom of God, insisted that we "watch and pray" lest we enter into temptation and thus be robbed of the joys which belong to us as children of the all-loving, all-wise Father-Mother God.

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