Article August 12, 1950 Issue

LOSING OUR ENEMIES

FLOYD C. SHANK

One prominent rule for community living given by Christ Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount is (Matt. 5:44), "Love your enemies." This precept is probably more frequently quoted than obeyed. Why? Perhaps because its full import is little comprehended and ability to practice it only slightly developed. But Christian Science reveals the interesting fact that loving our enemies is the Christian and only effective means of losing them.

A rule must be understood if it is to be demonstrated and obeyed. This rule, "Love your enemies," is based on the nature of God as Love, the divine Principle of all being. Christ Jesus in enunciating his command supports it by pointing to our heavenly Father, who "maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5:45). Here is portrayed the divine fact that God is unvarying Love, divine, immutable Principle. Logically, then, the rule or command does nothing less than require the nature of Love to be expressed in practice.

The Bible teaches that man is the image and likeness of God. Accepting God as Love, Christian Science logically asks, "How then can man be unloving or unlovable?" To cease expressing Love because another person, a so-called enemy, does not manifest the divine quality of love is to lose sight of our relationship to God as His likeness. Therefore, to the degree that unloving or hateful thoughts are indulged, consciousness of man's true selfhood as God's likeness is lost. The false sense of separation from Love, the true source of being, appears real and personal, when in fact it is unreal and impersonal. Any concept of man as originating, imparting, or assimilating hateful, revengeful, or malicious thoughts is erroneous, untrue. Evil has no identity, no principle, no law, no substance. It is void of personality, of individuality, and of reality.

Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.

Send a comment to the editors
NEXT IN THIS ISSUE
Poem
MOTIVES AND ACTS
August 12, 1950
Contents

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit