The law of God is the law of Love, the force of good. It is this law, understood and demonstrated in Christian Science, which proves to the individual seeker the truth of permanent, eternal selfhood in God. A simple appeal to the law of divine Love brings response even as the appeal of the child brings unfailing response from a wise and loving parent.

The man that God knows, loves, and sustains is spiritual and eternal now. If man were not spiritual and permanently established in the Mind that is God, there could not have been a scientific discovery of this fact. If a thing is discoverable, it must exist in fact. If the spiritual universe, including individual spiritual man, did not exist as eternal and substantial to spiritual understanding, it would be absurd to announce a discovery of this fact. But the spiritual reality of all things is becoming acknowledged and understood in ever-increasing degree.

Man, as understood in Christian Science, is an individual, spiritual being dwelling in the universe of Mind, governed by the laws of God, Life, Truth, and Love. Far from being mystical, the understanding of this truth, even in a degree, brings a sense of buoyancy and freedom which impresses the entire being.

The unrest and uneasiness which are inherent in the mortal dream of life in matter spring from the belief that man has become separated from God. Christ Jesus came to dispel this belief, giving full evidence of man's indestructible individuality in his reappearance after the crucifixion. Many pertinent statements of the Master testify to his certainty of the indestructibility of individual identity.

It was Jesus' understanding of the true nature of God and His spiritual universe which gave him his complete confidence in the power of God to preserve the identity of man intact. He understood as none before him had done that God is Love and that divine Love is omnipotent. This understanding delivered him from the ignorant fear which besets mankind and prevents them from rising into the peace and the security of eternal life in God.

In "Miscellaneous Writings" Mary Baker Eddy says (p. 189), "The supposition that Soul, or Mind, is breathed into matter, is a pantheistic doctrine that presents a false sense of existence, and the quickening spirit takes it away: revealing, in place thereof, the power and perfection of a released sense of Life in God and Life as God." She adds, "For man to know Life as it is, namely God, the eternal good, gives him not merely a sense of existence, but an accompanying consciousness of spiritual power that subordinates matter and destroys sin, disease, and death."

God, who is Love, does not subject His creation to the fearful experiences which throng the daydream of materiality. The Bible recounts many specific proofs that God is eternal, divine Love. For instance, we see definite proof of this fact in the experience of Jacob the son of Isaac.

Jacob, acting in the mistaken belief of life as material, took unfair advantage of his elder brother, Esau, in order to secure for himself the birthright, which included the possession of a double portion of the family estate. Through deception Jacob also secured the blessing from his aged father, which ensured his position as head of the family tribe, a position rightfully belonging to Esau. The latter vowed that in return for these offenses he would kill his brother Jacob.

To avoid conflict, Jacob departed for the home of his uncle Laban. During one night of his journey, God appeared to Jacob saying (Gen. 28:13-15): "The land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. ... For I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of."

Note the largess of divine Love's giving: Instead of the few acres that had seemed so important, Jacob is promised all the vast land whereon he lay. He is also assured that he will be the head of a great nation. The method of God is always the outpouring of infinite good, which by its very allness dissolves all the claims of evil. The supposititious dream of evil is always its own punishment, and the spiritual awakening always brings the glad release.

Following on through the Bible record, we find that Jacob eventually repented, sought reconciliation with Esau, and at Peniel won a great victory over the errors of material selfhood. It was here that he caught a glimpse of the great reality of man's eternal identity and was ready to realize God's promise to him.

That the nature of divine Love has not changed was proved in the experience of a young woman who sought healing in Christian Science. She had attended the Christian Science Sunday School, but after leaving it she became entangled in worldly thought, thinking that she enjoyed the false pleasurable beliefs of materiality.

The problem which impelled her to seek healing was that of a bone felon. The conflict between the desire to be rid of pain and the unwillingness to be rid of false pleasures argued that the case was difficult to heal.

As the Christian Science practitioner turned prayerfully to God, this truth from Mrs. Eddy's book "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" came to her thought (p. 249): "When error strives to be heard above Truth, let the 'still small voice' produce God's phenomena."

So clearly did the statement come that the thought of the practitioner was filled with certain conviction of the healing presence of Truth, or God, and through the deep silence came the realization, "She has never been out of the arms of divine Love for one moment." The young woman was instantly healed of all pain, and the false pleasures no longer appealed to her. She has progressively advanced since then and has served actively in the branch church of which she is a member.

While Christian Scientists are deeply grateful to God for physical healing, they do not stop there. There is always a profound lesson to be gained from every experience. In this instance of healing can be seen certain fundamental facts which are valuable to each of us. The words, "She has never been out of the arms of divine Love," were applicable to the true selfhood of this young woman and brought her healing.

But could the spiritual facts involved be true of only one individual child of God? No, for God is impartial in His love. Then it follows that the law of divine Love is forever available to each one of us and will ensure our complete immunity from all the claims of the physical senses.

In the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, we read (p. 173), "Man is spiritual, individual, and eternal." His true identity is made in the image and likeness of God, Spirit. Christian Science is proving this scientific truth to many thousands of individuals who are honestly seeking for the proof of the permanency of true individual identity.