Article October 7, 1950 Issue

CHILDLIKE RECEPTIVITY

FLORENCE F. SHEETS

"Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise" (Matt. 21:16). So spake Christ Jesus, and how true it is that many times we have received profound truths through the sweet, innocent words of a pure-minded child which bless the listener and inspire him to praise God for His infinite goodness.

One afternoon a young child returned from school and found that her little sister had seemed quite ill all day. The mother had been prayerfully applying her understanding of the teachings of Christian Science in order to demonstrate the spiritual facts concerning God's child and thereby destroy the picture of inharmony. However, many times the question, "What is wrong with my child?" had presented itself to the mother's thought, and she repeated it in the presence of the older child. Immediately the child, who was a regular attendant at the Christian Science Sunday School, replied, "Why, Mother dear, don't you know that you are wasting time when you think about what is wrong? Why don't you know what is right?" The mother recognized the wisdom in this loving rebuke and asked the child to tell her what was right. The reply was, "Mother, she is God's perfect spiritual child."

This spiritual and scientific statement lifted the mother's thought to the contemplation of truths set forth in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy. She recalled the definition of children as given in this book, which reads in part (p. 582), "The spiritual thoughts and representatives of Life, Truth, and Love." Immediately she became less concerned about the mortal body and physical organism and began to discern man, God's perfect child, as the embodiment of spiritual qualities, which are representative of God, good. She knew that man, the image and likeness of Spirit, Mind, possesses—through reflection—health, right activity, joy, and freedom from the influence of erroneous human opinion.

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