Father-Mother

Violet Ker Seymer

In "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 186) Mrs. Eddy writes, "We learn in the Scriptures, as in divine Science, that God made all; that He is the universal Father and Mother of man; that God is divine Love: therefore divine Love is the divine Principle of the divine idea named man; in other words, the spiritual Principle of spiritual man." There is power in the right understanding of the Father-Mother God, power also in our appreciation of good. Why? Because this appreciation of real being, originating in God, is related to the omnipotence of good. This appreciation of righteousness, honesty, purity, and all other lovable qualities is divine because "there is none good but one, that is, God."

If one is affected with disease or obsessed by some sinful trait or habit which, according to human theories, is traced to one's ancestry, how is freedom to be found? Through spiritual awakening. Christian Science teaches one to turn at once and forever away from burden to blessing, away from the parody of material inheritance to the actual, perfect heritage impartially bestowed on all by the one Father-Mother. Divine Love is incapable of imparting what it does not include. Actually, there is no anterior or posterior evil, for nothing is anterior or posterior to everlasting Life and divine goodness. Our Leader writes (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 63), "The beautiful, good, and pure constitute his [man's] ancestry." Spirit is the source of man's being, and our aim as Christian Scientists is to demonstrate this true being. But in our endeavor to put off materiality do we put up a feeble defense against an alleged mighty foe? Do we fight the material claim of heredity with fear rather than with spiritual authority? Is our thinking sometimes negative rather than positive?

The denial of evil is effective in proportion as it is accompanied by genuine rejoicing in man's true and incorruptible heritage derived from Spirit. We should set ourselves to realize the blessedness and might of coexistence with eternal Mind. Joy unspeakable should accompany our research in the realm of the real, for coexistence with God imbues man with invariable goodness, unalterable health, immutable purity, and the unmarred beauty of holiness. To dwell with thankfulness upon that which is, results in our awakening from the superstitious dream of that which is not. In the sanctuary of spiritual being there is everything to know and rejoice in, and there is nothing to put off or to dread. The source of man's consciousness is the one Father-Mother, and it is incapable of depletion, since divine Love is inexhaustible.

Again and again the temptation to give in to the stupor and stupidity of material sense may assail us; but again and again in our experience as Christian Scientists we have proved the illuminating presence of Mind and its power to lift us above vacillation, ineptness, submission to discord. And what we have proved once we can prove again. Spiritual advantages are infinite, and we enjoy those that we ourselves perceive, hold to, and utilize. Disadvantages under which we occasionally labor may spring from a tendency to concur with erroneous suggestions instead of dissenting from them. More study, together with more spiritual fidelity, will enable us to be consistent and successful in our scientific assent and dissent.

Should we mistakenly attempt to unmake or remake ourselves or someone else, the task will seem insurmountable because we have not taken the Father-Mother God, infinite good, and God's perfect image, as our starting point. But the mountain of some specific belief will melt as we see that our divinely appointed task is to accept in thought only what omniscient Mind includes and imparts. The way of demonstration lies in acknowledging but one mental altitude, that of omniactive, infinite Mind, in which man abides as Mind's own idea.

Christian Science leads us out of morbid introspection, retrospection, or anxious prospecting, into sheer gratitude for the beauty of man's spiritual origin and heritage. As with righteous determination we think of Love as our Father-Mother, we cannot continue to believe in sin, in suffering, or in merciless laws. We cannot believe that we or others are hateful, hating, or hated. The heavenly fact dawns upon us that as God's ideas all are loving, lovable, and beloved; all are healthful, and all are actually living in harmony with the one Mind and with one another. These spiritual facts emancipate us in proportion as we utilize them in our awakening from the dream of fear, materiality, and hostility.

We can so spiritualize our outlook through Christian Science that we shall find our consciousness mirroring more and more of spiritual beauty, harmony, and happiness. God is glorified in every case of healing in Christian Science, and "none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" To be always able to say, "Our Father-Mother," in our innermost heart is to find the way of resurrection and ascension. Therefore, "honor thy Father and Mother, God. Continue in His love" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 154).

Violet Ker Seymer

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Among the Churches

December 7, 1935

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