Claiming Our Birthright

ETHEL YOUNG

In his epistle to the Romans, Paul says, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and jointheirs with Christ."

In "Miscellaneous Writings" Mary Baker Eddy has written (p. 181), "When we understand man's true birthright, that he is 'born, not ... of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God,' we shall understand that man is the offspring of Spirit, and not of the flesh; recognize him through spiritual, and not material laws; and regard him as spiritual, and not material."

Since these statements refer to the absolute truth about God and man, and their relationship, how important it is that we should grasp their significance and claim the truth they contain as our own!

It sometimes seems that while the student of Christian Science, when reading such statements as these, finds no difficulty in accepting them theoretically, and is even able to apply them in a general sense when thinking of others, yet he finds it much more difficult to make them his own, and thereby demonstrate them for himself. Indeed, he seems almost to stand aside, as it were, visualizing these glorious facts from a distance, while all the time he is longing to be able to identify himself with the spiritual and real.

Now, let us consider how the same student would be likely to act if he received the news that a beautiful and valuable estate had been left to him, entirely and unconditionally. We know that such news, coming from an authoritative source, would be the truth about the situation, and that it could be verified and proved to be correct. But this estate would have to be claimed by the one to whom it belonged, and only by putting forward and establishing his claim would he enjoy his rightful ownership of it. We cannot imagine his neglecting to do this, or taking every step necessary in order to claim his inheritance. Why then should one hesitate to accept his heavenly birthright, his spiritual estate, which his Father-Mother God has bestowed upon him in abundant measure?

What a beautiful lesson is found in Jesus' parable of the prodigal son! Each of the two brothers was entitled to his full share of the inheritance. One of them wandered away from the father's house and "wasted his substance with riotous living." But "when he came to himself," or, in other words, awakened from his false sense sufficiently to desire to be again a member of his father's household, how gladly he was received, not as a hired servant, but as the son of his father!

And no less inspiring is the truth contained in the succeeding part of the parable. When the tempter subtly suggested jealousy to the elder son because of the father's joy over the prodigal's return, he who had remained at home was assured that he was entitled to his full share of the father's bounty, in these loving words: "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine." No son can receive more or less than all!

Whether the student of Christian Science may have belonged to the type of character represented by the prodigal, or to that of the elder brother, the glorious fact remains that spiritually he is an heir of God, and joint-heir with Christ; that, in fact, all that the Father has is his. How clearly Mrs. Eddy expresses this fact in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," when she says (p. 494), "To all mankind and in every hour, divine Love supplies all good"!

Our birthright, then, is an abundance of good—"every good gift and every perfect gift." Shall we be tardy in claiming what is our own? Shall we let doubt, fear, or any sense of unworthiness, self-condemnation, or timidity deprive us, even temporarily, of our God-given heritage? May we joyously and continually thank God for it and prove our dominion over every evil suggestion, over everything which would oppose or dispute our divine right to this heavenly heritage of good. Thus shall we become ever more conscious of our spiritual birthright, as God's children, and know that nothing can deprive us of a fuller realization of our sonship with the Father.

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