Article June 22, 1918 Issue

God and His Idea

EMMA THORNTON ALEXANDER

The Master said, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven," thus plainly showing the lack of wisdom in forgetting all the tender ties of our childhood. In innumerable instances the Master's own words show that he thought of himself, in his relationship to God, as of a child; indeed, he begins the best known of all his wonderful sayings, the Lord's Prayer, with the words, "Our Father." He thus teaches us that God is Father, and implies that we are His children and that we may turn to our Father in heaven with perfect confidence and trust.

In strict accord with Jesus' teachings, our revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy, writes on page 256 of her textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," "Love, the divine Principle, is the Father and Mother of the universe, including man." She also says, on page 200 of the same book, "Man is the idea of God, not formed materially but spiritually, and not subject to decay and dust." For those of us who were not brought up to think in the terms of metaphysics, the word idea may denote that which is merely abstract, and which has no relation to the concrete word child, although Mrs. Eddy obviously considers them as synonyms. If, however, we consider the use of these two words from the standpoint of our own personal experiences in relation to our earthly parents, we can catch a clear glimpse of our Leader's meaning.

Can any one of us who has ever had faith in the love of a father or the affection of a mother hesitate to believe that we were constantly held in the thought of both? Never once, from the moment when the sun's earliest rays shone in at the window in the morning until the setting sun's light had departed, did we fail to be held in the loving thought of our parents. In our early experience food, clothing, education, religious training, social opportunities, were all subjects of solicitude and wise forethought. Nor was this all. Even the minutest particulars of our lives must be carefully considered. Need we then wonder that the Master said, "The very hairs of your head are all numbered"? If we received such care from our earthly parents, how much more does our heavenly Father bestow upon us!

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

God and His Idea

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access