Article October 25, 1958 Issue

OBEDIENCE IS ACTIVE

MARJORIE FITCH SHAFFER

"In God's creation ideas became productive, obedient to Mind," writes Mary Baker Eddy in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 544). A mother had an opportunity to use this statement in dealing with her nine-year-old son who failed to carry out his daily tasks in a satisfactory manner. He was not intentionally disobedient, but he took no interest in the small household jobs he was assigned to do and performed them with as little effort as possible, often completely forgetting to do them.

One evening the mother took her Concordance to Mrs. Eddy's writings and studied references to the words "obedience," "obedient," and "obey." The sentence quoted previously, "In God's creation ideas became productive, obedient to Mind," took on new meaning. She saw that man as the reflection of God has no choice but to be divinely obedient to God, good, alone. Has the sun's ray a choice in reflecting light? Certainly not! In like manner man, as God's reflection, cannot possibly resist expressing what is true concerning God.

She realized that man, the spiritual likeness of creative Mind, must forever express activity and usefulness. In other words, the mother saw, through spiritual understanding, the perfect man, God's image and likeness, where before she had seen, as real, a disobedient mortal child. The results were glorious!

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