"God is our Father and our Mother, our Minister and the great Physician: He is man's only real relative on earth and in heaven." In these concise words on page 151 of "Miscellaneous Writings," Mary Baker Eddy gives the basis for working out our problems of human relationships, problems which sometimes loom large in our experience.

The admission that God, divine Love, is the only creator, the only Father and Mother of man, and that man has no other "real relative on earth and in heaven" must be our starting point. Is it not plain, then, that all of God's children, having one Parent, divine Love, have in reality no relationship with each other except through divine Love?

The mortal belief that we have real relationships based on material origin, law, or association is a denial of the omnipotence and omnipresence of Love, and this belief is always the cause of separation and loss of love. This wrong concept brings in its train misunderstanding, disappointment, and sorrow. Accepting this false premise of life and substance as existent in matter, we lose sight of man's true spiritual nature as the child of God, the forever reflection of goodness, and thus we experience discord.

Can God's ideas conflict with, harm, or dominate one another? No, for Love is never less than omnipotent. Can they be separated? Not for an instant, for Love is never less than omnipresent. Can they misunderstand one another? No, for Love, the divine Mind, is never less than intelligent and never stops governing its ideas. Not one of the myriad discordant beliefs of mortal mind can hide the harmony of God's creation when the truth of man's relationship to God is recognized and acknowledged.

Mrs. Eddy tells us (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 69), "Spiritually to understand that there is but one creator, God, unfolds all creation, confirms the Scriptures, brings the sweet assurance of no parting, no pain, and of man deathless and perfect and eternal."

How can we make these truths practical in human experience? By learning of the Christ, the true idea of sonship. Through our knowledge of the Christ, Truth, we see what is spiritually true of each of us: that is, that man is God's image and likeness, inseparable from his creator. The true idea of God and man which Christ reveals comes to humanity to rebuke and destroy every erroneous material concept. As we accept the Christ-idea and know ourselves and others as God's sons, we allow this ideal to govern our lives. We begin to annul the false mortal laws of sin, sickness, and death which would separate us from those we love.

A married couple, both students of Christian Science, glimpsed something of these truths. They decided that they would each maintain the fact that their only relationship was with God, divine Love, and with God's ideas. They affirmed that because they could never be separated from God, they could not be separated from each other. They also endeavored to see that neither depended upon the other for happiness, supply, or any good, recognizing that all good comes directly from divine Love.

The fruits of this work have been abundant over the years. The happy companionship of this couple has far exceeded their fondest anticipations. Their interests and aims merge in perfect harmony. Neither has lost his individuality nor has either been dominated by the other. During wartime they were never separated, although several times separation appeared imminent. The experience of these two students of Christian Science proves that such a relationship is possible for all who will base their marriage on this indestructible foundation: the truth that as God's children they have perpetual unity with their only real relative, divine Love.

The practical use of these truths, of course, is not limited to family problems. It should be utilized in all human relationships. At one time when I joined a business organization, I was told that a man with whom I would have considerable contact was a difficult person. As a student of Christian Science, I decided that I would not accept this opinion of him, but would know him as God created him—as divine Love's reflection, expressing all of Love's qualities and living in harmony with all God's ideas.

As a result my personal relationship with him was always friendly, and his co-operation was more than I could normally have expected. Through striving to express my true individuality as God's child and recognizing my co-worker as such also, I established my relationship with him through divine Love; and the only possible result was harmony.

If our human relationships seem to be disturbed, our need is for a better understanding of God's nature and of man's relationship to Love. Jesus came to establish the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man and to demonstrate the supremacy of Love. He said (Matt. 23:9), "Call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven." He also said (12:50), "Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."

By these two statements Jesus, who pointed the way for us, established the fact that he accepted no source but God and no relationship other than one with God's children, Mind's obedient ideas. This cut all the ties that would have bound him with the limitations of mortality. But the recognition of his spiritual origin did not keep him from expressing love, understanding, and good will—all qualities of God— to those with whom he was associated in daily living. This acknowledgment of man's spiritual identity enabled him to overcome all material restrictions in performing his wonderful works and gave him the victory over the belief that matter was real and that it could kill him.

When we follow the Master and acknowledge only one universal Father-Mother God, divine Love, we find our true relationship with Him and with His ideas. In the proportion that this is done, we are blessed with the evidence of reality, wherein all relationship both on earth and in heaven is characterized by love and understanding.