To understand the spiritual definition of "children," given by Mary Baker Eddy in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," which reads (p. 582), "The spiritual thoughts and representatives of Life, Truth, and Love," is to know a child's true identity. To see a child in any other way is to acknowledge the counterfeit creation, which Mrs. Eddy defines in part (ibid., p. 583) as "sensual and mortal beliefs."

This was made very clear to me through an experience which occurred during my first few months of teaching in a Christian Science Sunday School. I was confronted with a situation in the class which seemed to be almost an open defiance of Truth. A very inharmonious relationship had developed among the pupils and was manifesting itself in utter disregard for all that the Christian Science Sunday School stands for. Willfulness, discourtesy, inattentiveness, and indifference presented themselves as stumbling blocks to the unfoldment of Truth.

Daily and humbly I prayed to be shown the way to correct in my thinking any erroneous concept that might tend to prevent the healing. I studied prayerfully the above-mentioned definition of children and the passage in "Unity of Good" where Mrs. Eddy says (p. 23), "The divine children are born of law and order, and Truth knows only such." Some improvement followed, but the situation was not completely healed. I was still unable to impersonalize the error, which by this time had become very real to me in the person of one of the pupils.

I continued to study these references and to pray for further unfoldment. One Sunday while preparing for Sunday School this thought came to me forcibly: "You must love as Jesus loved; you must love through to the real; then and only then are you seeing this child as a spiritual representative of Life, Truth, and Love." This came as a surprise, for I had thought that I was loving this child as I loved the others.

To prove this I began one by one to think of each child alone. As each one came to thought I asked myself, "Does my love for this child approximate the love of the Master?" Each time the answer was, Yes, until lastly my thought came to rest upon the dear one who I felt had been largely responsible for the discord. When I again asked the question, I found that I could not truthfully answer, Yes.

Thus it was revealed to me that when I could know this child as she really is, when I could love through the error to the real, then the mesmerism would be broken and harmony would reign. The commandment of Christ Jesus became more imperative (John 15:12), "That ye love one another, as I have loved you." The following week I pondered deeply upon what it means to love as Jesus loved. I recalled the many healings which had been accomplished through the application of that impersonal, universal, and all-encompassing Love. I thought again and again how blessed were those upon whom Jesus' thought rested. And I prayed to know that I would see expressed in this child what Jesus would have seen—only that which is loving and lovable.

During this time I was greatly helped by the following statement from the July, 1954, issue of The Christian Science Journal (p. 359): "How wonderful to have learned in Christian Science that God, who creates all, also holds all His ideas in the right relationship to each other. One idea of God could not encroach upon, conflict with, or prevent the right unfoldment of another idea. Because every relationship stems from divine Love, it must be enlightening and liberating, never reactionary or restrictive." Then I saw clearly that the false beliefs about the child, which had seemed so real to me, were actually without presence, power, or law. With this assurance I looked forward to progress based upon divine Principle.

My heart overflowed with gratitude for the help I was receiving, and I know that the answer to my prayers had come. Love had shown the way, and nothing now could prevent the fulfilling of God's law of order and peace. Through the consciousness of Love, the true identity of the child was revealed, and harmony was established. Love began to express itself in consideration and kindness on the part of the pupils, in alert participation in the unfoldment of the Lesson-Sermons, and in gratitude for the weekly home assignments.

This experience of loving through to the real brought a more spiritual concept of children, and with this understanding came a closer bond of friendship between the pupils and myself. Untold blessings followed. This demonstration of God's love proved again the truth of our Leader's words in Science and Health (p. 206), "In the scientific relation of God to man, we find that whatever blesses one blesses all, as Jesus showed with the loaves and fishes,—Spirit, not matter, being the source of supply."