Article November 8, 1952 Issue

PERFECTION IS THE NATURAL STATUS OF MAN

GLENN L. MORNING

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." This statement of Christ Jesus' (Matt. 5:48) embodies a fundamental teaching of Christian Science; namely, that since God is perfect, man, His image, must express His perfect nature. Our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, writes in her textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures' (p. 259), "The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea,—perfect God and perfect man,—as the basis of thought and demonstration."

A dictionary defines "perfect" thus: "Having all the properties naturally belonging to it; complete; sound; flawless." It is natural for God to manifest perfection. It is also natural for man, God's image, to reflect all the properties belonging to God. Therefore it is natural for man to be complete, sound, and flawless.

Mrs. Eddy writes (Science and Health, pp. 253, 254), "The divine demand, 'Be ye therefore perfect,' is scientific, and the human footsteps leading to perfection are indispensable." What are these human footsteps through which the perfection that is natural to God's image can be manifested in our daily experience? Since God is Mind, His creation is a creation of ideas. Hence each of "the human footsteps leading to perfection" is a mental one.

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