Only the Father Knoweth the Son

One of the terse sayings of Jesus fraught with meaning and promise is, "No man knoweth the Son, but the Father." The "Son" referred to by the Master is "the Son of God, the Messiah or Christ," to use the words of Mary Baker Eddy in the first line of her definition of "Son" on page 594 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." Since individual man is forever "hid with Christ in God," Jesus' statement includes the meaning that no materially thinking mortal can know your true individuality or mine, which is God's son, for only the Father knoweth the son.

Some mortals are afraid of what other mortals may think. They fear those who may be hateful, jealous, designing, or critical. There is no reason for such fear. No materially-minded mortal can possibly know, understand, or perceive the true selfhood of you or me. What complete release from fear of malpractice this fact provides! Your true being and mine is of the substance of Spirit, which material thought cannot cognize. Only the all-knowing Father Mind can and does know that selfhood—His idea. Our brother's true consciousness, reflecting the Father Mind, of course knows his brother aright. As God's reflection, he reflects the Father's knowledge of His son. But the fact forever remains that no state of material-mindedness animated by human will and malicious motive, can ever know, discern, or make contact with the individuality which God constitutes and holds safe and secure in His impenetrable allness. The safety of man is equal to the safety of God.

Why then do some mortals fear what is called malpractice? Because they ignorantly attribute more power to mortal mind, the one evil, than they do to immortal Mind, God. They are believing that the negative material mind, asserting itself through wrong-thinking mortals, has in some unexplainable way taken to itself some of God's omnipotence, perverted it, and directed it against the child of God. They are believing not only that evil thinking, or mortal mind, has some power, but that it has more power than God, immortal Mind, whom they theoretically declare is omnipotent. They feel like the Psalmist when he said, "My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword." But if God is truly omnipotent, how much power is left for evil? Yes, just how much?

When Mrs. Eddy writes (Science and Health, p. 102 ), "Mankind must learn that evil is not power," she means that you and I must become so consciously aware of God's omnipotence, and our oneness therewith, that we have no least fear of the evil mind's claim to power. Remember that before Jesus called the evil mind a murderer he called it a liar, and thereby excluded it, and all its lying activity, from Truth's kingdom.

"A courtier told Constantine," writes Mrs. Eddy, "that a mob had broken the head of his statue with stones. The emperor lifted his hands to his head, saying: 'It is very surprising, but I don't feel hurt in the least'" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 224 ). The angry mob directed its missiles at the statue, not at Constantine. He had a different entity, and was in a different place. The evil thinker is like the mob. He directs his malice, jealousy, and evil will not at the individuality of you or me, but only at the material misconception of identity he believes in. Our work is to know what we really are, not to believe we are what he thinks we are. We must never consent to believe we can be a target for evil. What an impossible role for the son of God! The word "target" is unknown to Mind. Never, never, never, is the Father's beloved—the only true selfhood of you and me— the object of an evil purpose. Perpetually, eternally, and forever is our individuality the object of Love's sustaining, enfolding blessing. This great fact we should daily and joyously know.

Our Leader commands, "Christian Scientists, be a law to yourselves that mental malpractice cannot harm you either when asleep or when awake" (Science and Health, p. 442 ). We are, humanly, always either asleep or awake, so her admonition is to know that because we are actually the constant reflection of God, and the embodiment of those spiritual forces which are God's law, the suppositional activity of mortal mind, called malpractice, cannot contact, touch, or harm us at any tick of the clock, night or day. Our immunity, because of our spirituality, is perpetual. Our superiority is constant. Physical and materially mental forces exhaust themselves in their realm of supposition. They never penetrate the Love-filled infinitude where God's children forever dwell.

The tussle is usually with the educated belief that evil has agents through whom, and persons on whom to work. All such concepts are effects of mortal mind and are as substanceless, lifeless, and powerless as mortal mind. Mortal mind, claiming identification and action, is no more the fact of being than a book of fiction is a statement of historical fact. Through spiritual sense—the sense of Soul —we discern that nothing is but God and His ideas; that in God's universe (and none other really is) there is no destructive evil purpose or force, and no wrong-thinking person to use such or feel such, no villains or victims. Only God is active, influencing, controlling, governing His children with unchallenged and incontestable power. Mind alone knows its manifestation. Our present and eternal superiority to evil thoughts is in the simple, changeless, spiritual fact that no mortal sense of man knoweth or can assail our sonship with God, for only the all-knowing Father Mind can and does know His son.