Reflection

EDMOND COULIN

Whoever undertakes the study of Christian Science should endeavor to understand and apply "the first and great commandment," "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." When the light of Truth breaks upon thought, one finds it easy to love God as He is defined by Mrs. Eddy on page 465 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," thus: "God is incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love."

When the student realizes that he has the privilege of manifesting the divine qualities as a ray of light does the sun, he understands that his real or spiritual selfhood is the child of God, at-one with his Father-Mother, Love. At this point he may ask himself how he could love God and not love his true selfhood.

The student next remembers the other commandment, namely, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." It is certain that the sincere student acknowledges his neighbor's true spiritual status even as he does his own. He sees the true selfhood of his neighbor only as the reflection of perfect God. This is the true way of loving one's neighbor as one's self. Theoretically this is easy; but when aggressive mental suggestion or the cloud of the false sense of material creation seems to interpose itself and dim one's vision, earnest work is necessary to refute the false suggestion. Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health (p. 410), "The more difficult seems the material condition to be overcome by Spirit, the stronger should be our faith and the purer our love."

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