Article August 5, 1950 Issue

TRUE REFLECTION

JOHN DE WIT

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE reveals God as the only Mind and man as the full reflection of that Mind. The divine Mind, being all-inclusive and omniscient, knows itself completely, and this knowing is embodied in spiritual man, God's reflection. The word reflection and its derivatives, therefore, occupy an important place in the vocabulary of divine Science.

The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, states in her work "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 23), "God, Spirit, Mind, are terms synonymous for the one God, whose reflection is creation, and man is His image and likeness." The sentence following this quotation reads, "Few there are who comprehend what Christian Science means by the word reflection." Thus it can be seen that a deeper meaning must be attached to the word than is usually ac cepted. A dictionary gives, in part, the following definition of the word reflection: "The mode, operation, or faculty by which the mind has knowledge of itself and its operations." The mode, operation, or faculty by which divine Mind has knowledge of itself consists of its knowing, understanding, consciousness, and cognition. With the light that divine Science throws upon the subject, the metaphysical meaning of the word reflection is seen to approach the following conception: Mind knowing itself and forming or outlining its idea or embodiment. Definitions other than metaphysical, such as the returning of light waves after striking a surface, do not illustrate the realm of spiritual reality, where all is Mind, manifesting itself in infinite ideas.

New students often assume that the love or good feeling expressed in the company of congenial friends is shared by all through a reflection or return of that which individuals show forth. When it is recognized that only Mind knows and causes its own intelligence and activity to be reflected, it can be seen that Love, which is a synonym of Mind, alone can originate love. Nothing in reality bounces back, for Love is All and includes all. Our true selfhood, which is identified with Love as its expression, shows forth love at all times. Our understanding of this great fact eliminates the tendency to express love only in the presence of congenial friends. Indeed, it is our individual reflection of universal love—our showing forth of kindliness, good will, joy, confidence, and compassion—that enables us to experience that contentment which surpasses all human comprehension.

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